The last quest
by galium verum
Summary: A powerful sorceress sends her granddaughter on a dangerous journey. Accompanied by a forestman who is bound by a curse to fullfill every order the sorceress may give. He has to ensure her safety but he does not now the true reason behind this journey. A bit of King Thrushbeard and Snow White if you squint hard.
1. Chapter 1

Laertes was determined to go through with his plan that evening. The dark clouds that hid the moon were giving him an advantage. Anyway he didn't see sense in waiting any longer.

Setting fire to the stables of the Countess would be only a start. He had a string of nasty little suprises planed for her that would make her life just a little bit more inconvenient. Laertes was no dreamer. Of course he would like to see Countess Sophie deprived of all her power. But one man couldn't overthrow her. Not even when he was as fueled by anger as the young redhead.

The odds seemed to be in his favour. No one was to be seen around the wooden stables. Only the soft noises of the horses cut through the silence of the deserted yard. Laertes felt a pang of guild as he heard the animals but it couldn't be helped. They would be victims of his war against the Countess. She wouldn't have wasted a thought on horses in his place. Even the death of her subjects didn't seem to bother her too much, if it was necessary for her schemes.

Laertes shrugged of his hesitation and silently approached the stables. Setting fire to them was nearly too easy. As the flames were strong enough not to be extinguished by the occasional gust of wind he left the yard. His heart was pounding hard in his chest as he silently climbed the old stonewall and made his way through the woods surrounding the Manor. Most of Sophie's guards had accompanied her on her journey to the borders of the realm. But Laertes still counted him self very lucky that the others seemed to relax their duty more than a bit during her absence. Maybe they helped themselves to a bit of her good wine. Well, the Countess would not be amused …

With every step away from the manor he felt his heartbeat return to normal. He made it! His first plan worked out! That was certainly worth a beer in the nearby tavern. Laertes had not been inside a tavern for a long while. The smell of beer and burned fat greeted him like an old friend as he opened the wooden door and entered the gloomy room. The good humored shouting and singing would have not suited his mood before but now he felt as if everyone here would be saluting him. He ordered a beer and sat down at a wanky table in the corner. Soon his eyes adjusted to the dim candlelight. The maid that brought his beer was Sally. He knew her from before and she gave him a surprised smile as she recognized him.

"Didn't think you would show up here again, Red One", she said as she put down his pint in front of him. Her hand touched his briefly.

"Come to the back later. I still have a little something stored away for you."

Laertes gave her a nod and leaned back against the wall. The beer was as good as he remembered and he allowed himself to close his eyes and let some memories surface.

But he wasn`t granted the time to feel some sense of self respect or redemption. Sophie's guards found and arrested him before he even finished his beer.

Someone must have seen him. Maybe the stablemen or the kitchenmaids. It all had gone to smoothly to be true anyway.

Laertes didn't put up a fight. He knew before that he would be send away to live the life of a forestman, an outcast with no connections to his former life, should he be caught.

The thought of this punishment hadn`t in the least resulted in any hesitation on his part. Not much was left that bound him to his former life and what was he was happy to ignore and abandon.

The smoke was still curling up from the remains of the stables as the guards let him to the cellars of the manor.

"At least they didn't succeed in putting the fire out at once", Laertes thought. Sophie still would be outraged that someone got so close to her. She prided herself on being the most powerful magician in the realm. It certainly would not have been so easy for Laertes to enter the manor grounds had she been around. Rumors said that her little finger twitches when ever someone intrudes her grounds. That twitching wouldn't have helped her miles away.

Laertes smirked at that thought and watched the heavy cellardoor fall shut behind the guards. He looked around the cell. A straw mattress in the corner, a jar of water and a small lantern were its only contents. He layed down on the mattress and closed his eyes. It would be days before the countess returned. He might as well get some sleep.

To his astonishment he felt no fear. Staging his revenge on the Countess as a forestman would be more difficult but it certainly would be possible somehow. He hadn`t failed yet.

Only a few minutes seemed to have gone by as the cellardoor opened. Laertes jerked awake. In the dim light he could see the frail figure of the Countess entering his cell. She was accompanied by her guards. It was unlikely that she would need them. People in the village whispered she could kill with a wave of her hand. But it was said that she did not like to torture her prisoners herself.

Laertes got up. He wondered how she could have come back so quickly. But this was the Countess afterall. Maybe she had guardians around her grounds that were not human. Some wizards could possess the mind of animals. Maybe she had some owls watching over her manor and following every intruder while she was away. It would explain why the guards had found him so quickly. As she looked him over he felt a stab of fear. He had known – yes experienced himself- what a powerful sorceress she was and yet he had gone against her. Had he misjudged the situation? Well, it was too late for doubts now.

"And who are you to dare setting fire to my property, young man?"

The Countess´ voice was deep and smooth. It seemed to come from an other woman. A kind woman that could be the favorite grandma of every child.

But she wasn`t known for her kindness.

Laertes smiled. He would not make it easy for her.

"If you can look at me without a memory telling you who I am, you won`t get the answer from me either."

These words should change his life in a way he did not expect.

Sophie was also not known for being amused by riddles and this one was no exception. She ordered to send him to the forest as he thought she would. But he had not foreseen the second punishment.

The Countess send a man to fetch a sliver bracelet. She told her guards to hold him tight. Then she grabbed his arm. An odd sensation shot through Laertes as her cool dry hand touched his skin. It made him shiver. Sophie's gaze rested on his face as she closed the silver bracelet around his wrist. She spoke a few words softly under her breath and the silver turned cold. A pulsating pain shot through his arm and Laertes realized with shock what she had done to him.

The Countess had bound him to her will. He was one of the Bound Ones now, the unfree men that had to obey every order of Sophie no matter if they wanted to or not.

The pain would be with him every day from that moment on. It was not unbearable but not easy to ignore as well. Should he dare to refuse Sophie's orders the pain would increase slowly but steadily until it was not endurable anymore.

"Three times 50 orders my young friend, then you get your own free will back. If you survive that long that is."

Sophie turned his face towards her and her smile was devoid of any warmth.

"Would you care to answer my question now?"

Laertes resisted. Three days. Three days of agony that nearly drove him out of his mind. Then the pain got to strong even for him.

As Sophie entered his cell on the third evening he told her what she wanted to know.

Perhaps the Countess had suspected him of being part of a secret plan to overthrow her. Her bored listlessness as she heard who he was made Laertes wish he was.

But he had acted alone. And he would be alone for a long time.

Sophie's guards brought him to a remote forest where he lived from that day on.

ooooOoooo

As the years went by Laertes changed. The young redhead that had only lived for his revenge and had taken pride on his anger became a true forestman. The rough winters and everyday challenges to survive made him quick, hardy and ruthless. He valued and protected his life with every mean necessary. Each day that ended without him surrendering to the harshness of the forest was appreciated. In many ways he liked his life in the forest at the borders of Sophie's realm. It was lonely. But for him it was the kind of freedom he had wished for when he decided to set fire to Sophie's stables. Sometimes unwelcome memories still plagued him but that never lasted long. Laertes would have his revenge but he would wait until he was a free man again.

He had given up on resisting Sophie's orders a long time ago. It was of no use to suffer more pain than he was in already. His enslavement couldn't last long anymore. Only a dozen orders were left now and Laertes was determined to see Sophie fall once he was free.

He was chopping wood one day in front of his small hut when he felt the familiar cold spreading over his arm. The silver bracelet glowed slightly. Sophie wanted him at the manor. Laertes put the last bit of wood away and hid his ax. He briefly wondered whether he should put on a clean shirt. It could be his last journey to the manor. If he kept his usual slightly respectless way with the Countess she might be irked enough to order him around. She liked to prove the power she had over him. And as only a dozen orders were left …

He would like to enjoy his freedom not in rags. His thoughts were disturbed by the noise of men coming through the forest. Sophie's guards came to accompany him to the manor. Laertes shrugged and forgot about the clean shirt. It did not matter really.

The guards treated him roughly as always. They did not like him. His sarcastic and humiliating remarks had ridiculed them more than once in front of their mistress and their comrades. No one liked a Bound One who thinks he is smarter than everyone and turns out to be right.

The Commander of the guards who brought him into the audience room of the Countess was no exception to that. With more force than necessary he pushed Laertes to his knees.

Laertes did not hide his grin and looked around the room rather unimpressed. The Countess stood with her back to him and did not turn around as the Commander announced their arrival.

On a cushioned chair sat Sophie's granddaughter. Fiona was wearing the plain blue cloak of the healers which certainly still was an annoyance to the Countess. Sophie had wanted her granddaughter to be her successor but Fiona had already in young years refused to meddle in black magic.

Maybe she would have deserved some respect for that attitude and the will to disobey her grandmother from Laertes. But from what he had seen of her she was in all other aspects the loyal granddaughter. Her dark hair was held together by a broad silver hairclip that showed Sophie's coat of arms. On the ring finer of her slim pale hand Laertes noticed the signet ring of the family. So Fiona was still working for the countess although she left the manor some time ago.

"You will accompany my granddaughter to the lost Islands, Bound One. On this journey you will be responsible for her safety and well being. Make sure she arrives safely on the islands and help her with her task there."

Laertes arched an eyebrow in surprise. He did not expect to be trusted with such an responsible task. He was not the only one surprised.

"A Bound One, Grandmother? Surely your soldiers would be more suited? The journey is a dangerous one …"

It sure as hell was. The lost islands itself were in the hands of the ghouls. After the last war they retreated from the forests of the realm to those islands and had not been seen around these areas for a long while. Still in their own territory they might be very dangerous nonetheless. The journey towards the island was not safe either. Most of the way let through abandoned areas that were taken over by outcasts and raiders

The commander seemed to disagree with his mistress as well.

"With all due respect my lady, please reconsider your choice."

Sophie finally turned away from the window and faced Fiona.

"There is nothing to reconsider. Your safety, my child, is most important to me. In the end you always can trust a Bound One to follow my orders. They can not be bought or suddenly discover a liking for a life as a farmer who doesn`t follow the Countess`orders. This one can`t abandon you. It would be his death and he knows it."

Sophie cut of the Commanders assurances of his loyalty with one impatient wave of her hand.

"Enough! You, Commander Rouh, will accompany the two of them to the banks of the lost lake. But you wont go to the islands with them. " She gave Laertes a disgusted look.

"Now, get that man down to the washing rooms and make sure he is clean. I don't want Fiona to suffer his stench all the way to the islands. He shall shave as well."

With these words they were dismissed. Laertes felt the commander grab his arm harshly and was pulled upright. He followed the man who still visibly was hurt by the distrust of his mistress. Sophie did not even seem to be aware of her cruelty.

Laertes could not help a grin spreading over his features. He was looking forward to his first bath in years and sensing the discomfort of the grumpy soldier next to him brightened his mood even more. He did not like men who obeyed Sophie without a silver bracelet making them to. Worse were those who actually adored her. Commander Rouh seemed to be just that kind of man. While Laertes went down the narrow stairs he realized that he started to warm to the quest before him. Maybe it was not so bad afterall.


	2. Chapter 2

Fiona watched the door fall shut behind the forestman and the Commander. She felt uneasy with her grandmothers choice but could not deny her reasoning. She would have wished for someone else to take the task or even to go through it all by herself. But that was not possible.

She suppressed a sigh and rubbed her temples briefly. If only she could find an easy way out of this predicament. She did not want anyone involved and more important she did not want anyone to know about her … well, special powers would be the nicest way to say it.

Then a realization dawned on her. Her head spun around and she fixed the Countess with a stare that no one else would have dared to use with Sophie.

"Is he going to be the one to disturb the ceremony?"

Sophie put down the yew twigs she had fetched from a cupboard.

"Of course he is. He will be the only one coming with you to the islands."

She looked at Fiona. Nothing could be read in those dark eyes apart from determination. Fiona was sure that her surprise if not shock was written all over her own face. Finally Sophie turned around to fetch some more ingredients for the spell she was going to perform soon.

"And yes, he is going to take the place of whatever man or creature the Sisters may have chosen to be your confederate."

With that she answered the unasked question that hang between them.

"You are going to marry me to a forestman?", Fiona asked softly.

"A bound forestman, that is the important detail of this plan. And marriage is not the right word for it. You will perform a ritual and swear an oath that will enable you to give your power to him. As I can control his every move you give your power to me."

Fiona got up. She walked to the small window and looked at the forest that bordered onto the manor grounds.

Sophie guessed where her thoughts were going and laughed.

"Don't be foolish, child! You wont owe this man a thing. As the ritual is not a real marriage you will not have to live with him or even see him ever again after your return."

Fiona did not turn around and her answer was barley understandable.

"It is a ghoulmarriage, grandmother. For them it is real."

She could hear Sophie snorting dismissively.

"Let that not trouble you. Who cares about those creatures and the Sisters wont have the power to threaten you ever again once I have your powers as well…", she stopped as Fiona turned around.

Without looking Fiona knew that her skin had turned darker. Her hair was possibly the color of the stonewalls behind her now. She would have minded that loss of control normally but now she was to infuriated to care.

"I am half ghoul, grandmother, please keep that in mind!"

The countess´ face went hard.

"I have it in mind, be sure of that. Had your foolish mother listened to me, we would not have to deal with this situation now. It was bad enough that she chose this ghoul in the first place."

She stepped closer and Fiona had to resist the urge to back away. Her grandmother could radiate a cold power without raising her voice or even uttering a threat.

"She betrayed me. When she ran of to the lost islands the Sisters got to know about your existence. You were the weapon they wanted to use against me. Had I not made sure you be abducted and brought to me, your mother would have succeeded in giving my worst enemies a powerful weapon."

Fiona felt the anger flow away and an unsettling sadness taking its place. She looked away. Her grandmother was not the most affectionate woman but to hear her referring to her as a weapon was coldhearted even for the Countess.

Sophie seemed to sense what was on Fionas mind and her tone softened a little.

"This ritual is not only for me to gain your power." She stepped closer, took Fiona by the arm and let her to a chair.

Fiona sat down. The hands that rested in her lap were once again pale skinned. With her head bowed sightly she listened to the words of her grandmother.

"You decided against the black magic – that is your right. But the magical powers you inherited are not easily to be ignored. If you don't give them away, they will turn against you and destroy you." Sophie turned her face towards her.

"Child, you know that you don't possess the willpower to withstand your own magic. Otherwise the Sisters would not have been able to get so close to you."

Fiona nodded mutely. Since her powers were fully developed the Ghoulprincesses, only known as the Sisters of the lost Islands, had tried to invade her mind. It had started with very strange dreams and sleepwalking. But in the last few days the attacks on her had become more powerful. She could sense them trying to take over her mind, to control her movements or read her thoughts. It was the most frightening occurrence Fiona had ever experienced. The attacks did not last very long and had not yet succeeded. But she was not sure how long she would be able to stay the master of her own mind.

Her grandmother had at once seen through the plan of the Sisters. She had told Fiona of the ghoulmarriage where the bridal couple gave parts of their power to one and another to strengthen the bond between them. Sophie was sure that the sisters wanted to marry Fiona to one of their ghoulwarriors and let him take all of Fionas powers. They might succeed in controlling Fionas mind for long enough to make her find her way to the islands and willingly give her power to her chosen husband. But they would not be strong enough to control Fiona throughout a war against the Countess. The marriage was the perfect way for them to gain access to the unique crossing between sorcery and ghoulmagic that Fiona possessed.

Fiona rubbed a hand over her face. The headache that always came after an attack of the Sisters grew stronger. A sign of her own tiredness.

"Do I really have to go to the islands? What if our plans fails and the forestman can't interrupted the ceremony at the right moment? Or what if the Sisters succeed to read my thoughts and get to know that I am not really following their orders?"

The Countess stepped away from her and started arranging her spell supplies on the small table next to them.

"To make sure that will not happen I will perform a spell to strengthen you. It wont last for a long time. But if you leave this evening you will arrive at the island soon enough."

Her movements were quick and determined. Fiona wished she could feel secure but with the enemy right in her own head she failed to seek comfort of her grandmothers assurances. She had considerd giving up her resistance and start using her powers to support her grandmother. Even if it would mean to betray her own beliefs. But she was not trained yet and Sophie had assured her that she would not be experienced enough to face the imminent danger she was in by herself.

A sharp scent filled the room as Sophie mixed the ingredients in front of her. Fiona could smell the vermouth and yew but could not tell what the others were.

A knock at the door startled her. The Commander and the forestman came back. The face of the Commander was expresionless as he stood next to the door. The forestman did not kneel this time. His eyes darted around the room as he quickly seemed to take in the situation. A slight smirk was on his face as before, but his shoulders seemed tense as if he was expecting something to happen. His red hair was shorter now and his face clean shaven. Fiona would not have recognized him. But she had not looked at him carefully before anyway. He was younger than she had thought. Maybe a bit older than herself. The silver bracelet around his wrist still glowed slightly. If she had understood her grandmother correctly the bracelet would absorb her powers and they would be at Sophie's disposal. The Bound One would not gain any powers through the marriage. She looked at it closely. It was nothing extraordinary. Just a plain silver band with some runes on it. That such a bracelet should be able to hold all her powers, to hold everything that made her special and endangered her at the same time …

"Interested, Princess Fiona? If you ask your granny very nicely she may get you one of them as well", the Bound One said in a sweet tone.

Fiona glanced up and was taken aback by the only slightly veiled hatred she could read in his eyes. She did not even know that man. But well, what did she expect?

Fiona got up and went to stand next to him. He was a bit taller than her and his skin seemed very rough and weatherbeaten against her hands as she took his wrist. She noticed him flinching slightly and frowned. Her reluctance to use black magic was not the only reason why she had chosen to become a healer. She could sense the pain of people. That helped her a lot in her work and made her a very successful healer. She could feel the pain that went through his arm as she traced the silver bracelet with one finger.

What an awful punishment this bounding was. She let go of his wrist and stepped away again.

"You seem very keen on getting one, Princess. If you want mine I am happy to give it away – although I kind of got used to it by now."

Fiona stopped the Commander who was raising his hand to slap some respect into the forestman. He was not willingly helping her and possibly had been forced to do a lot of awful things in his time as a Bound One. And yet she needed him. It would be a hard enough journey without her having him punished for every bit of sarcasm he uttered. Wordlessly she got back to the chair.

The headache was nearly unbearable now. She had to more and more concentrate on controlling her skin- and hair colour. Ghouls were able to adjust to every surrounding. Their appearance changed and they faded into the background. It was very hard to spot a ghoul that did not want to be seen. That was one of the reasons why they were so feared among the people of the realm. Fiona had kept her ghoulside a secret for as long as she lived with her grandmother. She was good at it. The only thing she could not stop from happening was the changing of her eye color when she got very tiered or was in a lot of pain. That was the reason why late visitors to her humble cottage were only greeted with one single candle burning in the living room. Fiona felt more comfortable in the darkness anyway.

She turned her head away from the two man at the door and hoped Sophie might be ready soon.

The Countess poured a greenish liquid into a small vial. Then she stepped behind Fiona. Although she did not touch her, Fiona could feel her hands moving over her head as the Countess started to chant. An odd sensation shot through her body and send shivers down her spine as Sophie finally rested her hands on her shoulders. She heard her say a few words but could not make them out. A wave of dizziness suddenly washed over her. She started to slip of the chair but was hold back by Sophie's firm grip on her shoulders. The world slowly stopped spinning before her eyes and she took a deep breath.

"That should have been strong enough. I take it you still have to get ready for the journey. Go and pack your things. The commander and the Bound One will pick you up at your cottage in an hour."

Sophie stepped around her and Fiona could feel her eyes on her as she nodded and raised her head.

"This is an important task, Fiona. Don't disappoint me."

Fiona managed a smile.

"I `ll do my best."

The Countess did not return the smile but she bent down and kissed her briefly on the forehead.

Then she turned to the Commander and ordered him to wait outside while she gave the Bound One her instructions.

Fiona did not move for a few seconds. In all the years she had lived with Sophie, the old woman had never shown any signs of affection apart from a few pleased comments when she had lived up to her expectations.

Fiona kept her face carefully blank as she walked past the Bound One to the door. No one had to know how much this little gesture meant to her.


	3. Chapter 3

Laertes watched Fiona closely as they rode through the moonlit forest. The Countess had told him what she wanted him to do. He had not been able to hide his utter surprise at the orders. Something very important was happening here. Sophie felt threatened. He could sense it. Otherwise she would never permit a Bound One near her granddaughter. Maybe he could find out what really was going on. If he was lucky he even could use this resent threat to Sophie for his purposes.  
Of course she had not explained why he had to perform a ritual on the ghoulislands of all places. He forbid himself to even think the word marriage in connection with Sophie's family.  
Why could the Countess not take Fionas powers by herself? He sincerely hoped the ritual did not involve something only a man could do to a woman. He would rather die the slow and painful death that was in for him if resisted Sophie's orders then touch a woman of her family in that way. Or any woman ever again.  
Laertes shook himself out of these thoughts and watched Fiona and the Commander who talked amicable with eachother in front of him. The Commander had made a point of telling Laertes to keep his distance and his mouth shut. Laertes had ony been too glad to accept it. He could observe better from this position anyway.  
The Countess had given him a small vial with a greenish liquid. When ever Fiona showed any signs of dizziness he had to spread some of it over her forehead and eyelids and make sure she could rest at least half an hour afterwards.  
"Just what you need", he muttered under his breath. "A fainting princess in the middle of a forest full of raiders and outcasts."  
She seemed fine now. Laertes was sure that those waves of dizziness had something to do with the spell the Countess had performed on Fiona. It had not been pleasant to witness. The fact that Fiona was willing to go along with her grandmothers schemes even if it meant physical harm and a marriage to a forestman strengthened Laertes suspicions that Sophie was in a lot of trouble this time. The thought warmed his heart.  
His eyes wandered through the forest. He let his senses reach out as he had learned a long time ago. Everything seemed to be quiet.

They rested a few hours later. Laertes stood watch. He did not sleep a lot anyway. In the first days after his bounding the ever present pain had robbed him of his sleep. But over the years he had developed a way of dealing with it. He tired himself out up to a point where sleep could not be held off by his discomfort. Laertes did not trust the Commanders abilities anyway. He was sure that man would not hear a horde of outcasts even if they danced through the forest. As he sat silently against an old beech tree he recalled what the Countess had said to him before he left.  
"I am sure you counted my every order, Bound One. The like of you always do. How many are left?"  
He had thought about not answering her. His hopes really depended on her loosing track of her orders. But even as he thought of resisting the pain increased and he had told her.  
"Not many left with you then." She had smiled and stepped closer.  
Laertes could not help gasping as she grabbed his wrist. Alone her touch send a vicious wave of pain up his arm. He clenched his hands and tried not to flinch as the Countess gripped tighter.  
"Has the thought ever occurred to you that I can renew the bound when ever I wish to? No? I thought so. Somehow you Bound Ones never seem to realize this."  
She let go of him and Laertes resisted the urge to cradle his arm.  
"However I am not an ungrateful person. If you fulfill this task to my liking I may let you go free before your time."

Laertes snapped out of his thoughts as he heard a faint sound. He was up in moments, dagger in hand. The sound had come from where the others rested near the remains of a small fire. Without making a sound he crept closer. Someone was coming towards him. It only took him a moment to recognise Fiona. He slipped his dagger back into his sleeve and watched her. Her movements seemed odd. She stared straight ahead without looking where she was treading. Sleepwalking then. Laertes had his orders for this case as well.  
"You better watch where you go, trees don't scatter away in awe just because you approach", he said to make sure. There was no respond. Well, she had not addressed him directly before anyway, arrogant as she was. Not that he cared. But as she did not even show any sign of having heard him, he was sure she was sleepwalking. He touched her as she walked by. The young woman froze then started swaying. Laertes watched her fall to the ground. That may give some nasty bruises later. He quickly poured some of the liquid on his hand and brushed it briefly over her forehead and eyes. That should be enough. She did not move or give any other sign of resuming her sleepwalking so he left her there and went back to the beech tree. He had not been ordered to fuss about her.  
In the early hours of dawn the Commander took over his watch. Of course he carried the sleeping Fiona back to the fire and draped a blanket over her. The look he gave Laertes could have frightened the bravest of men. Laertes gave him a mock salute. Then he made himself comfortable next to the fire. As sleep finally came he thought that having the Commander around was a real upside to this quest. It was so delightfully easy to annoy him.

ooooOoooo

The morning passed without any major disturbance. Apart from Laertes having a row with the Commander. That stupid man definitely did not know his way around these woods. He took the longer route and seemed oblivious to the fact that not listening to Laertes would endanger his dear Fiona even more. Laertes would have happily let them walk into any trap between here an the lost islands, had not that bracelet reminded him of his task. Since the Countess had layed her hands upon it the normal pain seemed to have increased slightly.  
"Damn her soul", he muttered under his breath.  
Fiona who stood next to him and watched the horses drink from the little stream looked up.  
"Pardon me. I did not understand what you just said."  
"Nothing for your noble ears, Princess", he answered and turned towards the trees.  
The Commander had gone off to hunt some small animal to add to their meal in the evening. An other stupid idea to go into the woods by himself. Laertes doubted that he would succeed in catching anything. But maybe this was the opportunity he had waited for since the row they had. He would make sure that they took the safer route. It seemed some more convincing arguments were needed with the Commander.  
Before he could sneak off behind him though he felt Fiona holding him back.  
"I am no Princess, please stop referring to me in that a way".  
Laertes turned around with a smirk.  
"Your are heir to the Countess who is the single ruler of this country. That makes you a princess. Besides, my mother did not give me the name Bound One either and still that's what I am and how I am referred to. We are what we are, Princess."  
To his surprise Fiona seemed not annoyed by his tone.  
"You got a point there. What is your name then?" she asked calmly.  
Laertes snorted.  
"There, there what shall I say to that? The Countess wasted one order and three days on me to get an answer to that question. And now she did not even tell you. Seems to be of no importance then, don't you agree?"  
Fionas face still showed no sign of annoyance. She only nodded curtly.  
"If that is how you see it", she said and stepped around him.  
Laertes watched her take her horse and lead it to the small clearing where it could graze for a while.  
"She is not as easily irked as her grandmother", he mused to himself.  
Then he turned around and vanished between the trees. The Commander was easily found. He kneeled next to a tree at the far end of the small clearing. As Laertes had thought the man had not yet caught anything. He looked very irritated by now. That made it even easier for Laertes to sneak up behind him. He dealt him a blow that should render him unconscious for a while. Commander Rhou slumped forward. Laertes stood still and stretched his senses. He took in his surroundings while slowing down his own heartbeat and breathing very shallowly. After a few moments he could sense animals returning to the clearing and smiled. Nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be around him. The birds picked up their song again in the treetops above him. He knew some of them would not have started singing if any other humans would be around. Swiftly he bend down to grab the feet of the Commander and drag him back to the horses.  
Fionas voice nearly stratled him to death.  
"Would you care to explain this to me, Bound One?"  
He spun around. There she stood in her plain blue coat. Very obviously to see. Why had he not sensed her approaching? Even more importantly why had the birds not minded her presence?  
"You can be very stealthy", he breathed trying to slow down his racing heart again.  
"You obviously share that talent. Why did you knock out the poor Commander?"  
He did not answer. She didn't't need his explanation anyway.  
"You could have left the matter to me", she said as she kneeled next to Commander Rhou and checked upon him.  
"I would have convinced him that it is faster and saver to take your route. Now help me carry him to the horses. Gently please."  
Together they managed to get the Commander on his horse. Fiona insisted on Laertes to sit behind the unconscious man and prevent him from sliding of his horse. Still a bit puzzled about what happened before Laertes did what she asked. As he rode on Fiona took the reins of Laertes´ horse and followed him down the narrow paths through the woods.


	4. Chapter 4

Fiona brought her horse to a hold as the forestman in front of her stopped and raised a hand. Without a sound he slipped from his horse and vanished between the trees.  
"I don't like this", she heard Commander Rhou mutter next to her. He had been outraged once he found out what trick the forestman had played on him. Before Fiona could stop him he had grabbed the man by the collar and accused him of following his own dubious schemes.  
"Of course I have my own plans, old man. But it doesn't matter. Remember your mistress´ words. This little present here makes me more loyal than you could ever be." The Bound One had mockingly waved his arm at the still fuming Commander. Of course it had ended in a fight.  
To Fionas faint surprise the two men seemed to have gained at least a bit of respect for each other after beating themselves nearly senseless. The Commander finally agreed to the route and let the forestman lead the way.  
The Bound One appeared next to her horse out of nowhere.  
"Five outcasts are setting a trap just around the next bend. They must have seen us coming because they were discussing who gets the lovely lady first when I sneaked up behind them."  
Fiona saw the Commander clenching his fists.  
"Any suggestions?" she asked.  
The Bound One arched an eyebrow.  
"I would recommend the youngest one, my lady."  
"Will you shut your filthy…", the Commander hissed but Fiona stopped him with a wave of her hand.  
"You know what I mean."  
The forestman nodded and motioned them to follow him. They slipped from their horses and went a few steps into the forest.  
"If we don't appear as they expect us to, they will send a man to check where we are. The Commander and me are going to take care of him. The others will come and see what happened to their friend. If we are lucky we can take them out as well." He stopped and looked Fiona over.  
"You should go deeper into the forest and hide. We will fetch you when it is done. Oh, and Princess", he added with a mock smile. " if I were you I `d leave that bright coloured cloak of yours behind."  
Fiona smiled to herself. She could change the colour of every garment she was wearing. But it would only arise suspicions if she didn't leave it behind. She handed it to the Commander. Then she made her way deeper into the woods.  
As soon as she was out of sight she leaned against an old oak tree and started to chant softly. Contrary to what many people believed not every ghoul could change his form into any animal he liked to be. Only the most powerful ones could change shape in that way. Even they could just turn into one animal. During the last rites that enabled a ghoul to use his full magical gift the young ghouls choose an animal. If their natural gift was strong enough they could from that day on change into the shape of their chosen animal. They also gained power over them. At least to a certain degree the chosen animals would obey the ghouls orders. Fiona knew that the sisters had chosen dragonflies. The Island swarmed of these colourful insects and you could never be sure when you were watched by one of the Sisters through those shining eyes.  
As Fiona was only half ghoul her powers were not strong enough to change shape like that. But she could melt into a tree. It was the basic ghoul gift that bound the ghouls to the forest. The melting made ghoul and tree join for a short while and renew the ghouls powers. The tree even could help mending a ghouls wounds. Whenever Fiona entered a forest she could feel the strong life force flowing through the roots beneath, the tree stems beside and the crowns above her. She heard the trees call out to her. Normally she resisted the urge to melt into one but this time the old oak tree would help to conceal her perfectly. Already she had changed colour and could feel herself drifting into the wood. She stopped chanting as only the rough bark of the tree could be seen from the outside. Immediately the stream of life power flowed through her and she greeted the oaks silence but powerful presence. Fiona could feel her mind calming down as she was enclosed by it completely. She made sure not to enter the core of the tree so that she still could see and hear what happened around her. As she felt the vital presence she wondered how many ghouls may have given them self up and joined a tree forever. It surely was a great temptation. Maybe one day when she had lived her life long enough she might choose this way to go.  
The young healer had no sense of time once she started the melting. Therefore she could not say how long she had been joined with the oak as she saw the forestman approaching. Fiona ended the melting and started to slowly step out of the tree again. Only very sharp eyed creatures would be able to spot her now. The Bound One swept his gaze through the wood. Suddenly when he was only a few paces away from her he froze. A dagger appeared in his hand and he spun round to study the trees behind him closely. Fiona could not make out what had alarmed him. But she noticed a man stepping around the tree beside her. As the Bound One still had his back to her he could not see the man aiming his dagger at him. Without thinking Fiona threw herself at the surprised stranger. They crushed to the forest floor and Fiona hissed in pain as something flew passed her and sliced the fabric of her sleeve. She managed to press the mans arms to the ground nonetheless. His dagger lay a safe distance away half buried underneath some leaves.  
"Dear me, princess. I nearly put an end to your life there myself", she heard the Bound One say. "To much stealth can be lethal, you know."  
She shifted her weight to get a better grip on the man underneath her. The stranger lay surprisingly still and stared at her with wide eyes. He seemed to be frightened. She gripped him tighter anyway and shot the Bound One an angry glance. Her arm burned like hell and she felt her strength leaving her.  
"Would you please take care of this man now?" she asked between gritted teeth. The forestman bowed deeply then he took care of him. His movements were swift and determined and Fiona wondered how often he had already bound someone to a tree.  
"If you are lucky your friends come looking for you before nightfall", she heard him whisper to the stranger.  
The man still stared at her.  
"Please don't leave me alone with her", he begged clearly terrified now.  
The Bound One raised his eyebrows but Fiona realised now how much her sudden appearance must have startled the man. Her hair and skin were back to normal again but she was sure that had not been the case when she threw herself at him. For him it must have looked as if the tree itself suddenly became alive and attacked him. Had his hands not been bound he certainly would have made the sign against evil.  
"She is a witch!", he cried. "A tree hag!"  
"One more word and I turn you into a shrub", Fiona snapped just to stop him.  
She pressed a hand against her bleeding arm and watched the Bound One retrieve his dagger impatiently.  
"Can we head back now, please?"  
"Of course, princess. Although I rather liked his insults."  
Fiona did not comment on that but turned to find her way back to the horses. The Bound One seemed to be in good spirits. Maybe because his plan had worked out well. The stranger in the wood had been the last of the five outcasts. He seemed very certain that they were safe for the rest of the day.  
"Although we live our abandoned lives here in the woods, outcasts have their own rules. I doubt that anymore are around in this territory."  
The Commander waited for them with the horses. He looked exhausted but straightened up as he saw Fiona. He ignored the Bound Ones mock comment on that and hurried to help her with her injury. Fiona got some of her healing supplies out of her bag. She was grateful for his help. But she had to smile at the irony of a healer being patched up by a soldier.

ooooOoooo

That night they rested in a cave the forestman had discovered. As far as they could tell it was not inhabited by an large animal and provided a good shelter from the rain that had started. Fiona sat with her back against the rocks and let the warmth of the fire wash over her. She listens to the rain outside and chewed some of the painkilling bark from her supplies. Her arm only throbbed slightly anymore. She wondered briefly whether the willow bark would help the Bound One with his constant pain as well, as the man himself crouched next to her.  
"Possibly not", she thought to herself and looked at the bracelet. "Its caused by magic."  
"One question, my lady", the Bound One asked now. "Do you use black magic afteral? That man was very convinced you are a witch. What did you do to him?"  
Fiona shrugged her shoulders.  
"I pushed him to the ground. No more magic than that."  
He looked at her sharply. His hair seemed even redder in the firelight.  
"That poor man was nearly out of his mind and your eyes were a vivid green when you looked at me. Now they are blue again. That does not sound non-magical to me."  
Fiona sighed and closed her eyes.  
"Today I saved your life, Bound One. You threw a dagger at me and wont even tell me your name." She paused.  
"What makes you think I tell you all about myself just because you asked?"  
In the silence that followed she did not open her eyes until she heard the Bound One get up.  
"Point taken, my lady", he said. "Although I have to add that my life was not in danger today. I knew where that sound came from and pretended to be distracted to lure him out of his cover. You saved his life and took the dagger that was meant for him."  
Fiona got up as well.  
"Now, that makes me look rather foolish, doesn't'it?" she said but her mind was on something else entirely. She walked out of the cave into the rain and leaned against one of the trees that were only slightly illuminated by the fire in the cave. Throughout her conversation with the Bound One she had felt the next attack of the Sisters coming. A faint chanting had started in her head and her vision began to blur. Images of the lost islands suddenly appeared before her eyes. Hills covered in gorse and heather ended in steep cliffs. Narrow paths wound their way to the top where the fortress of the sisters was. Fiona could not help but feel its familiarity wash over her. She had spend her first years in the fortress. Although she could not recall what happened then she felt a warm feeling of being at home raising inside her. Of course that could have been the Sisters doing. Their chanting got stronger and louder until it blocked out everything else. Fiona felt herself drift into the background of her own mind and the sisters took over. They made her move through the dark wood not minding the rain or the lack of light. She could not stop them and strangely did not want to either. With every step a longing to be back on the lost islands grew in her. A part of her mind realised that she was lured away but it felt right to give in to the sisters wishes.  
She did not get far. The forestman appeared next to her and her forehead started burning where her grandmother had kissed her.  
"No, please, let me go", she thought. A sudden dizziness made her stumble. She caught herself on a tree and noticed that the forestman was talking to her. But she could not make out the words or answer. The Sisters however did.  
"Let her go!" Fiona heard herself say with a voice that was not her own.  
The forestman only hesitated briefly. Then he grabbed her arm and forced her back into the cave. The sisters could not do anything against it because by now Fiona felt very faint. She slumped against the cave wall and slid to the ground as soon as the forestman let go of her. She saw him taking out the small vial and pouring some of its liquid onto his hand. The chanting of the sisters stopped as soon as his hand touched her forehead. He spread the potion carefully and her eyes started to drift shut. She felt him apply some of it to her eyelids as well. With the strong scent of vermouth around her and a slight feeling of regret she gave in to her exhaustion and fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

ooooOoooo

She woke the next morning just as dawn started. The Commander slept next to her snoring gently. His beard had turned grey a few years ago but only now she noticed the many fine lines in his face. Fiona bent down and carefully pulled his cloak over him again. Since she could remember the Commander had been around her grandmothers manor. Maybe he was the closest she had to a father although he had a family of his own of course. Sophie had never told her what happened to her parents after she was brought to her. She had the strong feeling that they were dead but could not be sure. Fionas gaze rested upon the Commander a bit longer.  
"You like the old man", she heard the forestmans voice behind her suddenly. He seemed to enjoy trying to startle her but this time she had heard him coming.  
She turned with a slight smile that froze when he continued.  
"Does he know that you are possessed?" His voice was low but had an edge to it.  
"Does he know what danger you could turn into once you are not master of your own mind anymore?"  
Fiona averted her eyes.  
"He did not know about it", she realised. Quickly she took his arm and let him to the other end of the cave.  
"I take it my grandmother did not tell you why I have to go to the islands."  
The Bound One folded his arms and leaned back against the cave wall.  
"This little but important information must have slipped her feeble mind. So will you tell me what really is going on here?"  
Fiona hesitated. Why had her grandmother not told him the truth? Would his task not have been easier to fulfil had he known about the Sisters attacks on her? Well, he was a Bound One. He could not refuse an order. How much did he really need to know?  
"Your silence is suspicious, princess", he said and caught her eye. For a moment she had the unsettling feeling these brown eyes could read what went through her mind.

"What did she tell you?" she asked finally.

"That you have to get to the islands to perform a ritual – a ghoulmarriage that is- to give your magical powers away. I understand it would turn against you otherwise."

He threw her an other glance.

"That much seems to be true. Even I heard of your reluctance to use magic – although thinking about what happened yesterday I am not so sure about that any more."

Fiona did not remark and he continued:

"You have to pretend to marry a ghoul so that they perform the ritual with you. My part is to disturb the ceremony at the right moment and take the grooms part so that the power can be absorbed by the bracelet. And goes to your grandmother." He smirked. "You really could have chosen someone better there. Anyway I did not know that every so often you turn into a puppet of someone else." He took out the potion vial. "This and Countess Sophies spell shall protect you against anyone taking over, am I right? And I thought it was some way of helping you to transfer your powers."  
He bend forward until his face was only inches away from hers. She resisted the urge to back away.  
"Who is the puppetmaster? Who are we up against?"  
Fiona decided that he at least should know against whom he had to fight in the end.  
"The Ghoulprincesses. They want me to come to the islands and give my power to one of their warriors."  
The Bound One leaned back again and nodded in understanding.  
"I see, they want to use it against the Countess. That's brilliant. But maybe not brilliant enough. The Countess is cunning. She pretends to give them what they want and then takes it away from them in the last moment."  
He stared down at his wrist.  
"And I am going to play a keyrolle in her plan. Damn that bracelet!" he swore and slammed his fist against the rock behind him. "Once there is someone powerful enough to overthrow the old hag and I have to stop it." He shook his head and folded his arms again over his chest. "Just my luck, I guess."  
He did not seem to fear or respect Fiona enough to think twice before talking of treason in her presence. That did not astonish her much. In a way she even could understand him.  
"Why do I have to take the grooms part anyway? Cant the Countess take your powers directly?"  
Fiona shook her head and looked to the side.  
"No. I don't know the details of the ritual but grandmother was certain the grooms part had to be done by a man."  
That was not really true. The ritual could be performed between a ghoul and a man or a woman. They could be ghouls or sorcerers. But it had not been done between a half ghoul and a sorcerer before. It was not certain how well it would work and whether it would go smoothly. Fionas magic was entwined with ghoulpower. She took a great risk of loosing more than her power if she tried to give it away. But it was the only way for her if she did not want to use her magic. As the Bound One was nonmagical there was an even greater danger for his life. But somehow she could not bring herself to tell him of it.  
"I guess that is not how you imagined your wedding day to be", she said with a smile to lighten the tension between them. "Well, it could be worse, I suppose." She knew it had been the wrong thing to say as soon as she saw his eyes turn cold.  
"I already had my wedding day. And I assure you, there were no ghoulpuppets or silver bracelets involved." He did not even try to hide the spite in his voice. Fiona was surprised how hard his unveiled contempt hit her. She nodded curtly and turned her back on him. In an attempt to busy herself she knelt down next to the fireplace and began lighting the fire again.  
"It is the perfect marriage then, don't you think?" She made sure her voice was devoid of any emotion.  
"You are not far from being a puppet yourself, Bound One."  
"Careful now, Princess." He had stepped behind her and she could virtually feel the anger radiating from him.  
She slowly looked up a faint smile on her lips.  
"It not nice being slapped with the truth, is it?"  
For a brief moment Fiona thought she glimpsed something else in his eyes behind the fierce anger. Desperation? Maybe sadness. How might his life have turned out without the bracelet? Would he be different? It crossed her mind that he might even have liked her, if she were not the granddaughter of his worst enemy. She quickly looked down again. What a foolish thought.  
"The marriage is just a ghoulmarriage anyway", she said in a softer tone than before. "And you only step in at the end. So the ritual is not even complete. It wont be binding for you and in no way interfere with your real marriage." She knew her words did not make any difference. He still was forced to do something he otherwise would not dream of doing in a hundred years. In a way she was glad that he did not answer. Without a word he grabbed the water flask and made his way to the little stream outside the cave. Fiona caught herself following him with her eyes. Forestman had to leave their families behind when they were send to the woods. Did he have children? Would he be allowed to return to his wife once the bracelet was removed? Or would he be outcast forever? She could not imagine what it meant to him to be forced to marry an other woman.  
Fiona shrugged out of her thoughts and got up. She had her own worries to think about. Her gaze went back to the sleeping Commander. They were close to the islands now which meant he had to return to the Countess soon. Fiona felt sorry to let him go. In his presence she often felt at home and safe. But on the islands her ghoul side would certainly come to light and she had agreed with her grandmother that the fewer persons knew about it the better. Still what lay before her once they reached the islands worried her. If everything went to plan and the Bound One and her survived the ritual, how would they get away from the islands unharmed? It was the middle of the Sisters territory – the lions den. She wished for the Commander to be there and help. But that would not be possible.  
Fiona bent down and shook the Commanders shoulder gently. As she watched him snap awake she heard the forestman return. He rubbed his arm absentmindedly as he started heating the water over the fire. For the first time Fiona was glad about him being a Bound One. He could be ordered to keep her secret. She reached down and helped the Commander get up. She watched the two men exchange a few words over their breakfast but could not bring herself to eat something. She had learned to trust her feelings although she was a rather practical woman otherwise. Now a sense of foreboding settled on her that she could not ignore. She was not sure how strong her grandmothers spell still was and whether it could help her at all. How should she fulfil her part if the spell robbed her of her strength in the sight of an attack? Maybe it would change once they reached the islands.  
In one aspect the Bound One was right: her grandmother was cunning.


	5. Chapter 5

The lost lake lay before them. Its waters reached as far as Laertes could see. To the left of them were the lost islands. He only could make out the steep cliffs of the biggest one. The others were covered in the mist that had started settling over the lake. Laertes shivered slightly and pulled his cloak tighter around his shoulders. It had been an unpleasant day. Light drizzle had fallen on and off and had managed to drench the travellers in the end. It would be best to stay at this side of the lake for today. He would not dare cross these waters at night. Anyway, how should they cross the lake? Laertes hoped the Countess had seen to that as well. She had not answered his questions when he talked to her that day. Before he left she had given him a bag of grey powder that smelled slightly of mint. She told him to put some of it into water and dip his wrist with the bracelet into it, then she would be able to talk to him. She wanted him to report daily. But the powers of the powder seemed only to work for a short time so she never answered his questions. Instead she gave him new orders or listened to his short reports. He did not like it but then he did not like a lot about this quest anymore. This morning he had given the Countess a piece of his mind for not telling him about the ghoulprincesses. Of course it annoyed her and the pain in his arm increased but it had been worth it. Maybe Fiona knew how to cross the lake but she had not let him in on this part of their plan yet. He glanced sideways to the still figure at the waterside. She had been subdued and quiet ever since the Commander had taken his leave. Laertes was still surprised with how much warmth the young healer had said goodbye to the old soldier. He had not heard what they said. After a short nod to Commander Rhou he had wisely chosen to wait by the horses. But it had looked as if Fiona would say goodbye for longer than a journey.

"She is afraid", he mused. "Maybe she is not even sure whether she will make it back."

Well, Laertes knew it would not be easy but he was determined to leave the islands and Sophies realm as soon as the bracelet dropped of his wrist. After all those years as a forestman a few ghouls would not stand between him and his freedom. What happened to the young healer then was not his concern anymore. Still he wondered why Fiona who had resisted her grandmother successfully before would be willing to give herself to the enemies. There surely was an other way to free her of her magical powers then to walk straight into the lions den.

Laertes shrugged and started gathering some fire wood. He found a fairly dry bit of beach that was sheltered by to big rocks from the ever going breeze. There he started a fire and spread his wet cloak over the rocks hoping the warmth of the fire would dry it a bit before nightfall. A few trees were growing nearby where the sandy bit of the beach ended. He bound the horses to them and began to prepare some food. Where should they leave the horses when they crossed the lake? Laertes was sure it would not be a good idea to try and get the horses to enter a boat as well. Maybe they could find someone around here who would be willing to look after them as long as they were away. He looked up as he heard the young healer approaching. She sat opposite him and stared into the flames without a word. Maybe she was still offended by his words this morning. But it could not be helped. They had to plan their next move no matter if the princes was sulking or not. The more he thought about it the more he got the impression that this journey was altogether not very well planed. Unless of course the Countess meant to sacrifice them both to the Sisters once she had absorbed Fionas powers. Or she trusted his skills as a forestman enough to be certain he would get them safely of the islands. His cynical mind let him to believe the former. On the other hand Fiona was her granddaughter and only living relative. From what he had seen Sophie at least seemed to have some affections for her. If that cold-hearted crow could care for anyone apart from herself it was the young healer.

"So how do we get across, princess? I hope a boat is involved? Otherwise I have to admit that my swimming skills are somewhat limited", he said to his silent travelling companion. She raised her head and he noticed that she looked tired. She started to answer then suddenly froze. Her eyes looked over his shoulder and he turned to see what had caught her attention. Laertes could see nothing but trees. Fiona got up and pulled him to his feet.

"I show you", she said and dragged him behind her. As soon as they stepped out from behind the rocks she let go of his hand.

"Run!", she hissed and was away before he could even ask why. Fiona was fast. He nearly lost sight of her as she swiftly made her way between the long reeds and low shrubs towards the tree line. The forestman broke into a run and stepped between the trees only moments after her. But she was nowhere to be seen. Not a sound apart from the normal chorus of dusk animals reached his ears. Where could she be? What was going on here? Laertes swore under his breath. He turned right to follow the tree line along the shore. She must be here somewhere. His eyes adjusted quickly to the gloomy light but still he found no trace of her or of what ever they were running away from. The wind had picked up and the constant rustling of the leaves above him seemed overly loud to his ears. Laertes swept his eyes through the dark undergrowth as he went along. He had only gone a few steps when suddenly the fierce cry of a bird of prey made him stop in his tracks. He quickly glanced upwards. Just in time to raise his arms and protect his head from the vicious attack of the large bird that dived at him. He dropped onto his knees and curled into a tight ball as he felt the sharp beak and claws mercilessly dig into him. The forestman made sure to cover his head and chest as he waited for the attack to slow down. The bird raised itself a few meters only to dive down at him again. He shot forward and grabbed a huge branch. With all his strength he hit the bird as it descended. It gave a piercing cry and vanished into the tree tops with a few powerful strokes of its wings. Laertes stood motionless the branch still raised and waited. Nothing happened. After a while he lowered the branch again and tried to calm his racing heartbeat.  
"That was too easy", he muttered. A muffled sound made him spin around. There were dark figures next to the trees. Three or four of them. It was hard to make them out. They seemed to melt into the background. The forestman let go of the branch. His dagger slipped into his hand as he slowly backed away from them. They did not move. Too late he realised why. Something hit him hard on the back of his head and he felt his legs give away. He hit the ground hard and failed to come to his feet again immediately. His vision blurred and he struggled to remain conscious. Two dark figures stepped next to him. They did not say a word. One bend down and layed an ivy twig on Laertes chest. The other stepped closer as if to help should Laertes fight but the forestman had enough trouble stopping himself from blacking out. Whatever they hit him with surely did a good job. One of them began to hum. His eyes were of a vivid green. The twig suddenly started growing. It spread over Laertes body and soon had wrapped itself tightly round him. Laertes head was still swimming from the hard blow and his attempts of freeing himself remained feeble. The humming stopped but still the ivy seemed to grow tighter. Laertes gasped as it wound itself around his chest and made it harder and harder for him to breathe. Without a further glance or word the dark figures left his side and vanished into the wood. Laertes tried desperately to get his hands free but the ivy was strong and still growing. He knew once it would reach his neck he would not survive very long.

"Killed by ivy. How fitting for a forestman", it shot through is mind.  
His breath only came in painfully shallow gasps now and his vision already grew dark around the edges as the ivy made its way up. It seemed to be made out of iron rather than wood.

"Why not just let it happen?" he thought. "I can`t win this fight anyway." He tried to relax his muscles but his body seemed to have a mind of its own. Although there was not a lot of strength left in him he still struggled against the rough wood with its dark green leaves covering his whole upper body. As the first branch reached his throat he felt someone kneel next to him. The humming started again and he felt how slowly but steadily the weight of the branches was lifted of his chest. He took a deep breath and allowed him self to slump against the forest floor. With half closed eyes he looked up at the still humming Fiona. She moved her hands in complicated pattern over the branches. With every movement the ivy shrank back until it was a small twig again.

"I say, princess, this time you really saved my life. What on earth were these creatures?", he said as he trusted his voice again. She looked him over, then extended a hand to help him up.

"And where the hell did you vanish to? You were nowhere to be seen in this god forsaken place!" He grabbed her shoulder for support until the world stopped spinning around him.

"I would like to know how you knew they were after us as well but please start with telling me who they were."

"Stop talking and follow me to the horses. These wounds need attending." She walked briskly back to the beach only stopping to steady him should he stumble. Laertes realised it was of no use trying to get any informations from her now. She was a healer and as all members of her trade she seemed to have learned to be very stern with her patients should it be needed. With relief he reached the rocks sheltering their resting place and sat against one of them. Fiona got her bag. Then she helped him taking of his shirt and started inspecting the wounds on his arms and back were the bird of prey had attacked him.

"Painful but not deep", he heard her mumble.

"I am used to pain. Thanks to your granny", Laertes said with a grin that neither reached his eyes nor managed to annoy her. He clenched his hand as she applied some potion on the wounds on his back but managed not to utter a sound. She wrapped some bandages tightly around his upper body then she helped him putting on his shirt again.

"Are you going to answer my questions now?"

Instead of replying she went to the nearby trees and searched the ground underneath them. As she came back to kneel next to him he saw three acorns in her hand. She closed her hand around them and rested her other hand on his collar bone. With that she started chanting softly. Instinctively Laertes wanted to slap her hand away. But with the first words of her chant he felt the pain in his back dying away. The healer kept her eyes downcast as she continued chanting. As the wounds the bird of prey had caused him were not hurting anymore she let one of the acorns slip to the ground. The next one fell as his dreadful headache ceased. Fiona shifted her free hand until it lay on his shoulder. The bracelet around his wrist started glowing as she chanted louder. He saw her frowning in concentration and felt how the ever present pain of the silver bracelet slowly became less and less. Finally it subsided altogether. Laertes closed his eyes and felt his whole body relax as he was pain free for the first time in years. For some moments he just leaned against the rock behind him and embraced this blissful sensation. Next to him Fiona let the last acorn drop to the ground. As she took her hand from his shoulder he reached out and caught her by the sleeve.

"So you are using magic", he stated with his eyes still closed. The young healer did not move.

"Not all magic is black magic." Laertes heard her say finally. He smiled and looked up at her.

"There, there what will you grandmother say to that."

Fiona freed her sleeve of his grip and stood up.

"What do you say to it?", she asked defiantly.

"Thank you for your kindness", he answered and meant it.

She inclined her head.

"It wont last very long but should be enough to grand you a nightfull of sleep."

He felt sleepy already as he watched her finishing the preparations for dinner he had started earlier. The strong smell of vegetable soup made him realise how hungry he was.

"How can you be so sure we are not going to be attacked again?"

She handed him a bowl of soup and some bread.

"The ghouls are gone. I can sense that."

"I see." Laertes sat a bit more upright and started eating.

"And you sensed them attacking as well?" Ghouls. He had heard stories about them but as they fled to the lost islands before his time he never actually met one or was attacked by one.

"You know that ghouls can melt into trees? When they do that the leaves of one of the top branches change colour. I saw some trees behind us with yellow leaves at the top. As I looked some of them changed back to green. That meant the ghouls had just left them. Possibly because they got to know about your presence. They hate sorcerers."

Laertes looked up sharply. "I am no sorcerer!"

Fiona nodded to the silver bracelet on his wrist.

"You carry strong sorcerer magic around with you. That is enough." She rubbed a hand over her face and looked over to where the islands must be. By now it was to dark to see them. "These ones were wild ones. Normally no ghoul leaves the islands. Except they are outcasts and not allowed to return."

That made Laertes smile.

"Not much sympathy between fellow outcasts then, I suppose." He finished his soup and put his bowl down.

"Now, I wonder why they were not attacking you. Afterall you are a sorceress. If a reluctant one." His eyes did not leave her face as she got up and told him what he had suspected since he saw the green eyes of the ghoul.

"My father was a ghoul. Most of the magic I do is ghoulmagic that I learned on the lost islands." She layed a few more branches on the fire and Laertes could feel the warmth increasing straight away.

"I lived there for a few years before my grandmother send her soldiers and brought me to live with her." Her dark hair fell over her face as she bend down to get some more branches so Laertes could not see her expression. But he could sense her uneasiness.

"Maybe I am the first one she tells about her ghoul father", he thought. Strange that it might matter to her what he, the forestman and Bound One, thought of that.

"Dear me", he said making himself as comfortable on the beach as possible. "There is a lot more to this journey than your grandmother told me." With that he closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift into a deep sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

The sun was already rising as Fiona reached the beach again. She tugged the oars in and jumped into the shallow water. The young healer pulled the boat on shore and paused a few moments to catch her breath. Then she walked back to their resting place. Her grandmother had described to her where a fisherman lived who was still loyal to her. So close to the lost islands Sophie was reluctant to trust her subjects. But the fisherman owed her a lot. When Fiona had reached his small home in the early hours of the morning he was already awake and preparing his boat. She showed him the signet ring but he seemed to know her anyway. The old man had only been to pleased to help her out. Especially when she paid him for the loss he might gain by lending his boat to her. She left the horses with him and instructed him to sell them and by a new boat should she not return in three days.

As she had assumed the forestman was still fast asleep when she stepped around the big rocks. She paused and studied him. In the soft morning light he looked younger. The deep slumber had erased the ever present smirk from his face and he looked almost peaceful. She crouched next to him and shook him awake. He shot upright and caught her wrists. Fiona was not surprised. She waited until he recognized her. It took him only moments. Then he let go of her and rubbed his eyes.

"You are living a dangerous life, princess. Fortunately for you my dagger still is somewhere in the wood over there."

"And fortunately for you I have a spare one to give to you – provided you don't use it against me."

They had a quick breakfast and then set off to cross the lake. Fiona knew that ghouls were mostly active during the night and chose the day to melt into trees and sleep. Although the Sisters would only be too happy to see her on the islands she did not want them to know of her arrival yet. Everything depended on the Bound One being a surprise for them. She knew keeping his presence a secret would not be easy but maybe they would be lucky. The Bound One had nodded approvingly when he saw the boat.

"Well done, my lady. Now I just hope your rowing skills are better than mine. I grew up next to a lake but I never was very keen on being on it."

While Fiona rowed them over the lake he did not with one word remark upon her revelation from yesterday night. She was thankful for that. Fiona had known that once they were on the islands and would meet other ghouls, she would not be able to keep her secret. But the ghoul attack yesterday had caught her by surprise. Well, now it was out and she was happy that the Bound One had not reacted as revolted as she always had feared. On the other hand it really did not make any change for him, did it? Bound to Sophies orders as he was he would accompany a werewolf should he get the order. She watched him as he observed the coast of the island closely. His eyes darted around the small bay they entered and while Fiona secured the boat he went and checked that everything was quiet. Being suspicious of his surroundings and alert all the time seemed to be his second nature. Once again Fiona wondered what his life would have been like without her grandmothers punishment. Maybe he would even be the loving father of his children possibly working as a lumber jack somewhere. She could imagine him working no where else than in the woods. With this thought her guilty consciousness bit her again. It really would not do to leave him in the dark any longer about the risk he was going to take.

As he came back to announce every thing seemed clear she motioned to him to sit next to her on one of the smooth rocks. The forestman folded his arms and came to stand beside her.

"Are you going to give me a lecture now, my lady? You have that stern look on you again", he said lightly and gave her his usual mock smile. She shook her head and went to say something than hesitated again. How to put it now?

"I know you can ´t refuse an order, Bound One", she said and wished she would know his name for this conversation. "But I still think it would be fair to let you know that …well … lets say, this ritual we are going to perform is by no means to be underrated."

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Which marriage would be?", he said and she remembered again that he was already married. One more reason to be honest with him.

"For ghouls the ritual is harmless. But I am only half ghoul. It is not sure what will happen to me if I try to transfer sorcerermagic as well."

She paused and glanced away.

"You are non magical. The bracelet will absorb my powers when I give them to you. But it was not made to absorb. Once it starts it may not stop with the magic but drain you of your lifepower as well."

Fiona raised her head and looked at the Bound One again. His face was impassive and his eyes did not meet hers but went over her head.

"Maybe he suspected something like this", she thought. "He would not think good of grandmother if his life depended on it."

As the silence grew heavy between them she got up and walked a few steps away. She let her gaze wander over the lake as she gave him time to answer.

"I appreciate your open words." Fiona heard him say after a while. "That is more than I expected." His tone was devoid of any mockery or spite for once. Maybe that was what gave her the courage to ask the next question.

"If the worst happens to you and I shall come out of it unharmed is there anybody you would want me to give a message to?" She had done her goodbyes before she left. The last one with the Commander. It seemed only right to her to offer the Bound One a chance like that as well.

"Your family perhaps?"

He did not reply. The longer his silence lasted the more foolish she felt. When she thought he would not answer at all she turned round and looked at him. The forestman had not moved. He still stood with his arms folded next to the smooth rock and his gaze was fixed somewhere onto the dense undergrowth behind their boat. As if he felt her eyes on him he turned to face her.

"My family is dead", he said. "My wife and son drowned during the Lake Belmore attack." His face was still impassive and Fiona could only detect a slight trace of emotion in his voice.

"Oh hell!" she thought. "He will hate grandmother as long as he lives and possibly beyond."

She broke eye contact and an awkward silence settled again over them.

"How cruel of grandmother to pick him of all Bound Ones to do the ritual with me", she thought.

Fiona began to understand his fierce hatred concerning the Countess and everything around her. Lake Belmore was at the border of the realm. About ten years ago Sophie was attacked by a powerful warlock from the land over the mountains. His army had already crossed the border and was approaching the Belmore Valley. Her grandmother had waited until the army had reached the banks of the lake and put up its camp there. Then she had performed a most powerful spell. She told Fiona later that it had cost her a few years of her lifeforce but it had been worth it. She showed the warlock once and for all that Countess Sophie was not to be underestimated. With her spell she had raised the waters of the lake. In the end it covered the whole valley. The warlock's soldiers, their horses and everyone in that valley drowned. No one could escape so suddenly did the waters rise and take everything with them. A few families of Sophies realm had lived there as well. But the Countess had sacrificed them to protect her kingdom from being invaded. Fiona had always wondered whether the families could not at least have been warned. Some men of the valley had been out hunting. They were the only survivors of the Belmore Valley people.  
Commander Rhou once told her about a mob of these outraged Belmore men that tried to storm the manor. Of course they had not been successful. The Countess had the leaders executed and the followers whipped until they were not able to stand by themselves anymore. Fiona remembered the Commanders anger. He had advised the Countess against the spell and seemed to feel sympathy for the Belmore men. It had been the only time she heard him speak ill of Sophie.  
Fiona looked at the Bound One. He must have been quite young then. How old could his son have been? How long had he and his wife been married? She had noticed old scars on his back when she tended his wounds yesterday but had assumed that he gained them when he became a forestman. The night before she had used an old ghoul spell to trap his physical pain in some acorns for a while. Now she wished she could be able to do the same to relief his soul of the bitterness that seemed to have scared it for life. But she did not know how to sooth the mind. At least not with ghoul spells. She was sure he would not want to be comforted by her of all people. With her dark hair and pale skin she even looked a lot like was no way he could forget that she was the granddaughter of the woman who had robed him of his loved ones.

"I am truly sorry for your loss", she said quietly.

He nodded once and she turned towards the boat to get their bags. She would not inquire further into his past.

As she handed him his bag Fiona tried to concentrate on the task that lay before them. She had to face the sisters today. No time to worry about Bound Ones and their opinion of her.

"I think it may be best if I make my way from here on alone", she said and pointed to the dark fortress that could be seen behind some trees on the steepest hill of the island.

"The sisters live up there. Do you think you can follow me without being caught or seen into the fortress?"

"Don't worry, princess", the Bound One said. He had resumed his usual slightly patronising tone. "You are not the only one that can be stealthy."

Fiona nodded. Her gaze drifted to a small tower next to the fortress.

"The ritual will be held outside of that tower over there. It is the `Tower without doors` in where they keep their most precious possessions – mostly connected to the ghoul goddess."

She looked at him.

"Do you know how to disturb the ritual?"

The Bound One rubbed his arm absentmindedly.

"I don't even know what it involves. How shall I know when to disturb it?"

Fiona sighed. Her grandmother really did not seem to like entrusting her Bound Ones with any more information than necessary. She explained the ritual to him as far as she knew about it and noticed that he looked slightly relieved.

"So I only have to be at that stone at the right moment, grab your hand, spill some blood and take your powers?" He shrugged. "I had some harder quests before. Just make sure not to start the marriage without me lurking around."

He whistled a high pitched tone that broke into a pattern of fast, lower whistles.

"When you hear that, I am there and ready to kick the ghoulwarrior away from his promised wife."

Fiona rubbed her ear and frowned.

"At least I wont mistake that signal for anything else", she mumbled.

The sun was gaining height fast and Fiona knew she had to approach the fortress soon. When she was sure they had planed everything as far as they could she caught the Bound Ones eyes, took a deep breath and quickly said what was on her mind.

"I really wish I would know a way to do this by myself. You should not be forced to do it. I know it does not change anything but I would like you to know that I am not at all comfortable with how this is going to happen and yet would like to thank you for your help."

With a glance at the silver bracelet she added: "Should we both come out of this unharmed I promise I will do everything in my power to convince the Countess to let you go free."

The Bound One tilted his head to one side and looked her over. Then he sighed and shook his head.

"Now I see why you became a healer", he said. "You are to softhearted for your own good."

Fiona shrugged and extended her hand

"Good luck then, Nameless One."

He took it.

"And to you, princess."

He turned round and went to vanish into the undergrowth. Shortly before he disappeared, he paused and looked over his shoulder.

"Laertes", he said softly. "My name is Laertes."

With that he was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

„This is bloody creepy", Laertes muttered under his breath. He was hidden behind a tree and observed the scene in front of him. Fiona had just approached the guards outside the gate of the fortress. The forestman could not understand what she told them but it must have been something along the lines of being half ghoul and desperately awaited by their mistress. When the guards appeared to doubt her words Laertes was witness to one of her transformations. He kind of got used to her changing her eye colour from blue to that particular shade of green. But what she did to convince the guards did impressed him deeply. Fiona reached out for the walls of the fortress. The moment her fingers touched the stones her long black hair started to become lighter until it was of a dark grey. She stepped closer to the wall and her whole form seemed to fade into it as she gradually changed the colour of her garment and skin.  
The guards were convinced enough by her performance to grand her entrance.  
"She has got a lot of ghoulmagic in her already", Laertes thought as he let his eyes travel over the fortress walls to contemplate the best way in. "If that's only half I really don't want to go up against a true ghoulwarrior. Just my luck that there will be no way around it."  
He sighed irritated not only at that realisation but as well at the sight of the fortress in front of him. He could be as stealthy as he wanted to but neither the gate nor the walls would be easily overcome. He kept behind the trees as he made his way around the looming walls of the sisters castle. Some trees showed yellow leaves on the top branches and he made sure to avoid them. Fiona had told him to be aware of dragonflies as well. At first he found it hard to take her warning seriously but when she explained to him about the chosen animals of the ghouls his mirth had died away. The memory of that bird of prey still drove shivers down his spine. He had become very accustomed with the animals of the forest and seeing one behaving so out of its natural way had disturbed him more than he cared to admit. No dragonflies were around though and he relaxed a bit. He had had a very long sleep the night before. It had been very refreshing thanks to the healers efforts. But now he could feel the old pain throbbing in his arm. The birds gifts were as well still making themselves known and he really wished for an other rest before braving the fortress. All his tiredness was forgotten though as he saw a little stream coming up in front of him. It seemed to flow right through the castle grounds. There was a low grid where the stream entered the castle. It provided the best way in yet. Laertes sat down cross legged and watched the stream for a while. The grid would not provide a problem as he was very slim and agile. His swimming skills were not the best but if he was right he would not have to swim for too long. Inside there surely would be a cellar or dungeon bordering onto the stream. His eyes fixed the flowing water following its casual whirls. He rubbed a hand over his face and allowed himself to close his eyes briefly. The problem was his aversion of being near any kind of water. Crossing the lake had been a trying journey. He had done his best to keep a straight face and not let any of his emotions show. Fiona was very observant and much to kind hearted for his liking. Laertes was really grateful for her not too compassionate reaction to his revelation about his family. Anyone who had tried to comfort him had only resulted in fuelling his anger so far. Maybe apart from Sally, his late wife's cousin, who worked at the tavern in which the guards had arrested him. Strange that he had to think of Sally now. He had not spoken to her in years. Maybe she still had his instruments stored away for him. Laertes had played the fiddle and the flute many times in the tavern before the Lake Bellomore attack. Sally's hope had always been to coax him out of his anger and mourning enough to get him to play again. Maybe one day he would. Maybe when the thought of entering water or just being close to it would not make his chest grow tight with grief. With a deep breath he squared his shoulders and brushed the rising memories of his family away. He got up and stepped closer to the edge of the stream.  
"Pull yourself together, man!" he thought. "Afterall, you grew up next to a lake and you can`t avoid water forever!"  
Later Laertes could not say what alerted him. Maybe his subconsciousness had registered a presence already while his mind was occupied with other thoughts. He did not tense or turn around but waited. The forestman felt more than heard something coming towards him from behind. Just before it reached him, he side stepped. In the fraction of a moment he hit his stumbling opponent on the back and had him on the ground. Placing a knee between the shoulder blades of the figure before him he grabbed a fistful of its dark hair and jerked its head upwards.  
"You better give me a good reason to stop now", he hissed. The hair in his hand changed colour the moment he touched it.  
"Don't think you can disappear on me. I know all your little tricks."  
The ghoul did not answer. Laertes pushed his head down again and grabbed the ghouls wrists. He hold them with one hand as he pulled out a piece of cord from his bag. Strangely the ghoul did not put up a fight. Laertes had no time to wonder about that. Just when he had tied his hands he heard a rustling noise behind him. The forestman spun around and ducked out of the way of a heavy branch that sailed past him and crushed into the stream behind him.  
"Stop that right now, my shifty friend or I get really unfriendly!" With that he turned the ghoul around and put his dagger to his throat. Green eyes stared at him. Maybe there was a flicker of fear in them but Laertes could not tell for sure with these ghoules.  
"Who send you? The castle guards?"  
Of course the ghoul did not answer. Laertes was not sure whether they even talked his language. He was rather certain that this one came by himself though. As far as he still could trust his senses he did not notice anyone else nearby. But what should he do with this one now? Leave him here? Gag him?  
Following a sudden idea he took out the small vial of green liquid the Countess had given to him. If it helped to stop the sisters invading Fionas mind maybe it would have an effect on any ghoul? The chances were slim but he uncorked it anyway and poured some of it in his hand. The effect was astonishing. Just the strong smell of the potion seemed to scare the ghoul already. He flinched away violently and kicked out as he saw Laertes bend down. The forestman swiftly brushed his hand over the ghouls face avoiding to be bitten by him. The green potion ran in little streams down the ghouls face and he started trembling. Then he tensed and his eyes rolled back in his head.  
"Dear me", Laertes breathed as he saw the body of the ghoul go limp. The figure before him had changed colour again. Now he was of a pale grey that looked very unhealthy.  
Laertes quickly made sure that he still was breathing and he had not unwillingly killed him.  
"This is more powerful than I thought", he muttered and put the vial carefully away again. He might just have found a way to fight his way from the island should it become necessary.  
The forestman looked down at the ghoul before him. He figured that the spell the Countess had performed on Fiona had been to weaken her sorcerer side. The waves of dizziness had been before he put the potion on. The potion seemed to have to be applied to battle down Fionas ghoul side as well. No wonder she had virtually passed out the minute he had touched her forehead.  
"A caring grandmother would have told me of the dangers this potion holds", he thought. "She told me never to use much, but this stuff is lethal!"  
On the other hand maybe Sophie had thought it was best not to let him now what powerful poison he had on him. Perhaps she had been afraid of him trying to harm her granddaughter.  
Laertes shook his head.  
"I could have easily harmed her seriously just by putting accidentally too much on." To his surprise the thought bothered him more than he would have expected.  
He quickly shook himself out of these musings and stretched his senses to check the surrounding. Still everything seemed quiet. With a few determined steps he was waist deep in the waters of the stream. Suppressing a shiver as the cool water brushed against him he lowered himself down and swam towards the grid. As he had thought it did not provide any real difficulty. He dived through and swam into the darkness of the fortress beyond. The water felt eerie. At first he put it down to himself but the more he felt it close around him the stronger grew his suspicion that this stream was not at all a normal creek. It got confirmed the moment he felt a ledge next to him and pulled himself out of the water. His clothes needed only moments to dry. Laertes patted them a few times but there was no doubt about them being dry.  
"There is bloody magic everywhere!" He did not feel comfortable to be surrounded by it all the time. Things never were the way he expected them to be. The water did not seemed to have harmed him though. On the contrary he felt strangely revived. Even the wounds on his arms and back where the bird of prey had attacked him did not hurt that much anymore.  
His fingers felt for any obstacles coming up in front him in the darkness as Laertes slowly made his way along the ledge. He kept close to the wall and strained his ears for any sound, but apart from the soft murmur of the stream nothing was to be heard.  
After a while the wall ended and gave way to a flight of stairs. Laertes could make them out in the faint light of a torch that illuminated them somewhere on the top of the stairs.  
He had found his way into the fortress. Now he just needed to find Fiona.

ooooOoooo

The Sisters and Fiona sat in what could be described as the banquet hall of the fortress. Chandeliers hang from the beams of the ceiling and the long table underneath them seemed to loose itself in the vast room that stretched around it. Ghouls were known to be dancers and the wide open hall underneath him did seem to be for just that purpose. Laertes lay on one of the beams and watched the three women. The sisters were small ladies with dark grey hair. Their skin was brown and their eyes shone in that vivid green he could even make out from his high post of observation. They were dressed in very plain dark green garments. As he watched them he could not help but notice a certain similarity between them and Fiona. Maybe it was the way they moved. As if they would blend in everywhere – literally being one with their surroundings. He had noticed that with Fiona before. She seemed to be comfortable in every surrounding as if she could touch the very soul of the place and ask its permission to be around. Laertes shook his head slightly. It was not like him to have fancy thoughts like that. On the other hand these ghouls were peculiar beings.  
"Of course that would be what the Countess would suspect us to do, my dear", the taller one of the sisters said in a soft melodious voice. "But I can assure you we have no interest in taking your power. No marriage was ever planed." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.  
"We don't want an other war with the Countess. Although it is good to hear that she still is afraid of us we have to admit that we are not powerful enough to overthrow her. Or willing enough to sacrifice more of our people to a foolish war." She turned to her sister who had folded her arms at her words."You know it is true, sister, and it is only fair to be honest with Fiona." She smiled at the young healer. "I would lie if I said that we have no desire for revenge, Marena more than me, but its futile at the moment. Maybe we wont live to the day when the ghouls rise to leave these islands and their exile behind. But the day will certainly come." She looked at her sister and Marena continued.  
"The reason why we wanted you here on the islands is the last wish of your father." She got up and stepped closer to Fiona. Her hand reached out as if to touch the young healers hair but she withdrew it in the last moment.  
"He was our nephew and very dear to us."  
"Your mother as well", the taller one chirped in her melodious voice. "It was a dark day when the Countess henchmen took her life."  
Laertes looked at Fiona from above. Her face was impassive. He had noticed before that she could conceal her emotions just as well as him. But he saw her nod once curtly as if she would not trust her voice.  
"Your father died of an illness two years ago. In his last days his thoughts were all about you and he begged us to take care of you and help you to enable your powers as a ghoul once the time had come."  
Fiona looked up sharply.  
"So you want me here to perform the rites that give me full use of my ghoulpowers? But … I thought only real ghouls are allowed to do it …"  
The taller sister came to stand next to the young healer as well.  
"And who told you that, Fiona? Your grandmother?" As Fiona averted her eyes she nodded.  
"You have every right to do the ghoul rituals." She gently turned Fionas face towards her. "We have been watching you, my child. It has been a great joy for us to see you use ghoulmagic in your healer profession and your decision to refuse sorcerer magic warmed our hearts."  
"In fact that was when we decided to try and get you to the islands. It was clear to us that your ghoul side is much stronger than your sorcerer side", Marena added. She gave her sister a warm smile."Leandra had the idea of trying to get to you through your mind. There is not much a sorcerer can do to stop ghouls linking their minds."  
The sentence hang in the air. There was something in Marenas tone that said more than her words. Fiona leaned back in her chair and looked at the sisters. Then she sighed softly and a defeated smile played around her lips as she bowed her head to the sisters in acknowledgement.  
"You knew all along. We did not even fool you for a bit."  
The sisters simultaneously shook their heads and Leandra gave a small laugh.  
"Yes. We also know about your red headed friend." She looked up and her eyes found Laertes without hesitation.  
"You can come down now and join our little talk in a more comfortable position, young man", she said. Laertes could see a twinkle of amusement in her green eyes. With an annoyed grunt he slid from the beam until he only got hold of it by his hands. He dangled above the table for a while and then jumped. The muddy marks his boots left on the white table cloth gave him a grim satisfaction. He did not like being outwitted so easily. Well, the whole journey had not been his plan but still he would be damned if he knew how the sisters knew exactly where he had been hiding. Maybe even the very walls of their fortress were their spies. He came to stand next to Fionas chair and gave the sisters a deep bow.  
"Greetings, creepy Ladies. I hope you have no intentions of invading my mind any time soon. It is full of insults and swearing at the moment and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings", he said in his sweetest tone.  
Fiona laid a warning hand on his arm but the Sisters didn't`t take any offence at his words.  
Leandra let her eyes travel over him. "A Bound One", she muttered. Then she fixed Laertes with her eyes. "I see you have come armed." She did not point to the dagger he had concealed in his sleeve but to the pocket in which he had the small vial.  
"Yes, and I prefer it that way, thank you very much."  
Leandra shrugged and turned away.  
"We do not mean any harm to both of you", she said. "You are free to stay for however long you want and leave whenever you wish to."  
She gave Fiona a smile.  
"We know this must be very disturbing and new for you. But be reassured that we wont link minds with you again without your permission. We just wanted to have a chance of meeting you here on the islands. It shall be an opportunity for you to return to your roots and become one with yourself. And for us to fulfil a promise we gave to a loved one." She paused. "Not everyone has just his own advantage in mind", she added and for the first time Laertes could detect an underlying bitterness in her melodious voice.  
"We will leave the two of you alone now. I am sure Fiona will have a lot to think about." Leandra motioned for a servant that had waited by the door throughout the conversation.  
"Bring some food and drink for our guests", she instructed him. Then she nodded to Fiona and left the room. Before her sister could follow her Laertes called after her.  
"My lady, if you mean me no harm why have I been attacked by one of your henchmen outside the castle? You knew all along that I was with Fiona so why was I welcomed in such a rude way?"  
Marena stiffened at his words. She turned to face him and he could read anger in her green eyes but her voice did not show any sign of it.  
"He came to greet you and show you an easier way in than the one you chose. You were the one attacking him. He is not faring very well, if you are interested."  
"Well, I am sorry to hear that", Laertes answered and it partly was true. "But when somebody sneaks up on me from behind I don't greet him friendly. He did not explain himself but tried to crush a tree onto me as well."  
"He does not speak your language, Bound One." With that Marena left.  
"Then send someone after me who does next time!" Laertes called as the door fell shut behind her.  
Silence filled the room. After a while Fiona got up and looked out of the window that gave a good view over the island and the Lost Lake beyond. Laertes watched her and said nothing. She had taken off the blue coat of the healers and her dress showed signs of their eventful journey. The rim had muddy stains and he was sure it was not only torn at the sleeve where his dagger had sliced past her. She had her back to him and he wondered which thoughts went through her mind. It certainly was not an easy situation for her. He was not sure himself whether to believe the sisters or not. Although he was partly inclined to take their side just because they were Sophies enemies. And powerful ones at that. On the other hand he did not trust their soft spoken words and velvet voices. They were a bit too selfless for his liking.  
His musings were interrupted as the servant brought the food in.  
Laertes sat down and started eating straight away. Maybe he did not believe them entirely but he would not miss an opportunity to fill his belly with good food.  
"Sit down and have something to eat as well", he said as the young healer did not leave her window. "I am sure thinking and eating do not exclude each other."  
She gave a small laugh at his words. Then she came and joined him at the table. They ate in silence until Fiona finally looked up from her plate and searched his eyes.  
"What do you make of this?" she asked.  
Laertes leaned back and folded his arms.  
"Here we go", he thought. "Consultant to Sophies granddaughter, what comes next?"  
"I don't think you really want to hear my opinion on this. Anyway what ever you decide I have to follow."  
Fiona brushed his words away.  
"Oh, stop that Bound One talk now, Laertes. You are very outspoken and that is exactly what will help me in my predicament."  
Laertes raised an eyebrow at her.  
"Is that an order, princess?"  
He knew his words had hit her the moment he saw her expression go impassive. She laid her fork down and carefully folded her napkin next to the plate.  
"I see you don't want to discuss the matter", she said evenly and pushed her chair back. Fiona took her blue coat and draped it with a swift movement over her shoulders.  
"Please excuse me now. I will have a stroll round the gardens. Walking clears the mind and helps making decisions, don't you agree?"  
Laertes filled his goblet again with the sweet red wine of the sisters, took a sip and watched her leave the room. As she shut the door softly behind her he shook his head.  
"Too soft hearted and far too trusting", he muttered and finished the wine.  
He had just started his second plate as he felt the silver bracelet around his wrist go cold.  
"Ah", he thought. "Sophie is getting impatient." Laertes took his time finishing his food. Just as the cold silver threatened to burn his skin. He pushed his chair back and grabbed one of the empty bowls. Carefully checking that no one was around he placed the bowl on a little table near the window and poured some water from the carafe into it. As soon as the grey powder from his bag had dissolved and he dipped his wrist in, the greyish water cleared and showed Sophies face.  
He took his hand out and shook the water from it as he started to tell her what happened since his last report. This time he enjoyed reporting to her because he could see that she did not like the development one little bit. The Countess stared at him but he had the feeling her gaze went right through him.  
"So she is going to betray me as well", she said. Sophie spoke quietly but it did not soften her tone. It felt as if the temperature in the room had dropped a few degrees and Laertes could not suppress a shudder at her words. Her eyes where hard as flint as she finally focused on him again.  
"Kill her then. And make sure it is done before these ghoulcreatures can perform any ritual with her."  
Although his cynical mind had always seen the possibility of something like this happening the order still came as a shock to Laertes.  
His thoughts were racing through his head as he carefully set his face into a mildly surprised expression. He raised an eyebrow at her and asked:  
"Is that not a trifle premature, your highness? She has not betrayed you yet."  
"She will. Just like her mother. I can`t take that risk. Kill her tonight."  
Laertes gave her his mock smile and tried to calm down is racing heartbeat.  
"Dear me, Countess, this is evil even for you."  
A second later he gasped. Not at the hot pain that shot through his arm but at the translucent hand that came out of the water and grabbed his wrist.  
"You are mine, Bound One and you will do as I say", Sophie hissed. The hand was gone as fast as it had appeared but Laertes felt himself trembling. Anger at his own weakness rose in him and he clenched his hands to stop them from shaking.  
"I have no intention of disobeying you. I don't care whether she lives or not!" he spat. "But this is nasty work and I want your word of honour that I am free once I did it!"  
The Countess face broke into a smile that let Laertes blood run cold.  
"Oh you have my word of honour on that, Bound One. But be sure, should you fail me you will die in agony in less than three days."  
Laertes cradled his burning arm and gave a slight shrug.  
"Yes, yes I know. I am not new to this, remember?"  
The water in the bowl clouded over again.  
"Just don't fail me", he heard the Countess say before her picture disappeared all together. Laertes gave the table a kick that send the water bowl flying through the room. It shattered on the stone floor. He stared at the water pooling around the shards and felt his shoulders slump. The silver bracelet glowed and send stabs of pain already up his arm as if the countess wanted to make sure he did not forget how her punishment could be. Laertes leaned against the wall next to the window and slid down until he sat on the floor. It possibly was going to be his last quest. Last one or not it certainly would be the hardest up to now. He heard the door opening again but did not turn his head. Without looking up he recognized Fionas footsteps. She paused briefly next to the shattered bowl then she came to stand next to him.  
"Laertes? What happened?" She sounded concerned  
"Too kind hearted, too trusting and far too forgiving", he thought.  
As she bent over him to touch his shoulder, he could feel his dagger in his sleeve, ready to slip into his hand. Laertes looked up. She was so close now that he noticed tiny drops of water in her hair from the drizzle outside. He could smell the faint scent of pine and lavender that he had noticed on her before.  
"Too easy to kill", he thought and grabbed hold of her arm.


	8. Chapter 8

For a moment she really was afraid of him. There was something in his eyes as he grabbed her arms and pulled himself upwards in one swift movement. Something that scared her deeply. His grip was painfully hard and grew even tighter as she flinch away. Her fear must have shown on her face. For he pushed her away from him with a force that made her stumble backwards. As she caught herself on the edge of the table he tossed the dagger she had given to him at her feet.  
"Here is your present back, princess. Now go and get your precious sisters here." He almost snarled.  
She slowly made her way towards him.  
"I will, if you tell me what has gotten into you", she said calmly.  
"What has gotten into me?!" He faced her again and the barely suppressed anger in his voice made her stop.  
"Your darling grandmother! She has betrayed me! Broke her word that was worth nothing to begin with …"  
He stopped and clutched his arm in pain. The bracelet glowed white.  
"How?" Fiona reached out for him but he slapped her hand away.  
"Don't you dare touch me!" He grimaced and paused to take a deep breath. "She promised me I would be free if I bring you to the islands and help you with your tasks here. Its not my bloody fault that there will be no wedding ritual!"  
Fionas gaze travelled to the shattered bowl on the floor. The Bound One must have had means of reporting to her grandmother. Unfortunately it was just like Sophie to let the forestman take the blame for a failed task.  
"Let me talk to her. I can maybe ,.."  
"The hell you will do! I don't want to be around any of you damn sorcerers anymore! Now get those creepy ghoulsisters or I will loose my mind!"  
Fiona thought it might be best to do as he wished for the moment. So she went and fetched the sisters.

As they returned they found the hall empty. There was no sign of Laertes or his belongings.  
"He will try and make his way back to the Countess", Leandra stated and looked out of the window.  
"Shall we stop him?"  
Before Marena could answer Fiona shook her head.  
"No let him go. He has done more than enough for me. And my grandmother knows about the developments already anyway."  
Marena let out a sharp breath.  
"I told you it is dangerous to let a Bound One wander free", she said to her sister. Leandra shrugged and turned away from the window.  
"He will leave the islands now. I make sure he finds opportunities to. Lets not bother ourselves too much with him."  
Fiona remained silent. She stepped closer to the window and watched the island and the lake beyond. There had been something Laertes did not tell her. He had wanted her out of the way to be able to escape. But why had he been in so much pain? Was it simply because he had insulted her grandmother? It was very likely that he had not kept his opinion of her to himself when she told him he would not go free. And Sophie did not take kindly to insults. Or was he refusing an order of her? And if he was, how did he think fleeing from the island would help him in any way? Sophies punishment would reach him no matter where he was.  
It was odd how much his sudden departure saddened her. They had not been friends. Laertes had made sure to put her into her place whenever she had forgotten about the origins of their travelling companionship. Still despite his more than rude behaviour she had grown to like him for his outspokenness and even started to trust him. Maybe she was mistaken but there had been moments when she thought she caught a glimpse behind his façade of mockery and disdain.  
Fiona sighed and turned away from the window. Anyway it was for the best that he was gone now. She had decided to trust the sisters and go along with the ghoul rites. Of course her grandmother would not like this decision and who knows what she might order Laertes to do once she found out about her plan. Fiona knew she was taking a risk with believing the sisters but it felt like the right thing to do. If she was honest with herself she had felt the sisters presence in her mind all the time. That they knew about the reasons for her journey here had not been a real a surprise for her. Now however she did not feel any influence from them and still it seemed the right decision to do the ghoul rites.

The moment she had entered the fortress, memories of her life before she lived with Sophie had come back. She remembered the pine tree in the yard where her father had shown her how to melt into a tree. Fiona had often been inside the fortress. Not to visit the sisters that much but to accompany her father who did the gardening here. What ever had stopped her from remembering her childhood years was gone now. Every corner of the fortress, yes even the view from this window held memories for her. Memories of her parents mostly but as well of the sisters. From a child's point of view the sisters had been friendly but distant Ladies that lived in the big castle where her father worked. They had invited her parents for tea now and then but she mostly was not allowed to come. Fiona recalled how all she knew as a ghoul enchantress had been taught to her either by her father or one of the sisters. The memories that came like a constant string of pictures, smells and feelings were mostly good ones. With a stab of regret she realised that she had been happy on the islands.  
With her grandmother she had lived a fairly isolated life. That had only changed when she refused to use black magic and left the manor to live in the village. But still she had mainly kept to herself. Partly that had been down to her being afraid of giving her ghoulside away. But the village people had always been careful around her as well. Afterall she was Sophies granddaughter. So she was treated with respect but no one had tried to befriend her. Of course she would not have called herself unhappy. As a healer she got to know people and she enjoyed her work a lot. Maybe it had been a bit lonely sometimes.  
Fiona took a deep breath and put all doubts out of her mind. She told the sisters of her decision and thought she could see real joy in their faces as they congratulated her. Leandra even pulled her into a hug. Once her decision was made Fiona did not want to waste any time. So she asked the ghoulprincesses to start with the rites as soon as possible. The sisters understood her wish and that was why only moments later she followed the small Ladies through the corridors of their castle down to the main gate. Her night of preparation would start there. Before the last ghoul rites could be performed the young ghoul had to spend one night wandering the island, crossing the sacred stream three times. Once without touching the water, once by wading through it and once by swimming in it for a short distance.  
Fiona still had some time before nightfall and the sisters brought her to a chamber next to the gate where the young ghouls could rest before their night wake.  
The healer gratefully accepted the dark green cloak and warm blanket the sisters gave her. Her own coat was still damp from the rain earlier. She bit the sisters goodbye and laid down on the small bed in the chamber. Her lack of sleep the night before caught up with her fast. She pulled the blanket over her and told herself that she was not really betraying her grandmother. She would enable her ghoul powers but not give them to the sisters or side against Sophie. With that reassuring thought she went to sleep.

ooooOoooo

The rain had stopped and the night air was pleasantly cool but not cold. Fiona heard the sound of her long cloak brushing against the small flower stems as she made her way through the moonlit fields of heather. Now and then a spiky gorse twig would catch the rim of her dress but otherwise she could make her way unhindered. The slither of moon above provided just enough light for her to make out the vast fields of heather that ended in steep cliffs. She had left the castle hill and with that the forest behind. When she strained her ears she could hear the waves of the Lost Lake wash against the cliffs far down. Fiona stopped and stood motionless for a while. She took in her surroundings, greeted the animals that passed by silently and felt the very soul of this place.  
"Yes", she thought to herself. "I really do belong here."  
Although the islands were still regarded as an exile for the ghouls, many of the young generation saw them as their home. When the sisters had lost the war they had made the islands their refuge and performed their rituals here for decades. That was why there was the sacred stream that flowed through the castle grounds and through the roots of the holy willow tree. Before the sisters came these places had been powerful but only the magic of the ghoulprincesses had given them the importance they now possessed.  
She had already jumped over the stream and waded through it. Now she followed the cliffs around the islands until she would come to the stream a third time. The path stretched before her and the night already began to fade but Fiona did not mind. As she walked along the stony path that slowly turned away from the cliffs back towards the castle hill she felt for the first time in a long while at peace with herself.  
The heather gave way to dense undergrowth that opened into a forest of high pine and oak trees. She crossed the tree line and her eyes took a while to adjust to the darkness. That was why she nearly missed the dark figure that lay curled up against the roots of a massive oak tree. She called out to it but as she got no answer she rushed to kneel beside it. It took her only moments to recognize the forestman. His eyes where closed but as she layed a hand on his arm they opened and he looked at her mutely. She could feel him shiver violently and from time to time his whole form tensed as if in great pain. Laertes just shook his head as she asked what had happened to him and weakly tried to push her hand away. She quickly got out the candle stump the sisters had provided her with and lit it. In the flickering light she let her eyes travel over his body to see whether she could make out any injury. Of course there was none. Her suspicions were confirmed when she carefully pushed up his sleeve to have a look at the glowing silver bracelet. Veins of silver spread over his arm like spider webs and had already reached his neck.  
She cursed under her breath and grabbed him by the shoulders to sit him upright with his back leaning against the tree.  
"Stupid idiot!" she muttered."What are you not telling me?"  
He did not answer but she did not really expect him to. Once Fiona had him against the tree she knelt next to him and placed a hand on his collar bone. The other one she pressed against the deeply furrowed bark of the tree. This time acorns would not be enough. She would have to trap the pain in the tree itself. A procedure that could harm healer and tree. Normally she would try to find an other way but there seemed not to be enough time left. Just as she wanted to start she felt Laertes` hand on hers.  
"Do not stay close to me", he said in a low but astonishingly clear voice. "I can`t take the pain much longer."  
"That's why I am taking it away, foolish boy! Now shut your mouth and let me concentrate", she said and brushed his hand away.  
Laertes smiled at her.  
"You are not very ladylike when you are healing, princess."  
To Fionas relief he let himself sink back against the tree and shut his eyes as she started chanting.  
She braced herself against the pain that began flowing through her into the rough bark of the tree but could not help to hiss in pain as the first wave hit her. She quickly caught herself though and resumed her monotone chant. Fiona felt Laertes jerk violently under her hand as the silver bracelet increased its glowing light. He had started shivering again and his body radiated heat like a sunbaked stone. Fiona ignored the waves of pain and started chanting louder. The bark underneath her hand grew warm and she let her hand melt into it. Just deep enough for her to take hold of the stream of lifeforce that flowed underneath the bark. The trees strength entered her as she had expected it to. But still it was the longest pain trapping she had ever performed. As the bracelet returned to its normal silver colour Fiona stopped chanting. Gently she took her hand from Laertes`collar bone and lifted his arm to look at it closely. The silver veins were gone. With a sigh of relief she lowered his arm again and remained kneeling for she did not trust her legs yet. With a mumbled apology to the oak tree Fiona ended the melting and withdrew her hand from the tree. Utter exhaustion washed over her and she could have fallen asleep on the forest floor straight away.  
She brushed her hair out of her face and closed her eyes briefly until her breathing had returned to normal.  
"Your powers of healing are extraordinary", she heard the forestman say. The young healer mutely shook her head and let her eyes travel up the dark form of the oak tree above her. In the candlelight she could not exactly make out how much damage she had done to it. But where her hand had touched it the bark had turned black.  
"Will you now tell me what this is all about?" she asked and looked at the forestman.  
He looked as exhausted as she felt. His face was paler than she ever remembered seeing it and the hair that hang in his forehead was damp. He smiled faintly.  
"Not really, mylady."  
"Listen, this pain trapping is only temporary. I can`t battle the silver bracelet for ever. So you better tell me which order of my grandmother you are refusing. Maybe we find a way around it or perhaps I can even convince her to let the matter go…"  
Laertes simply shook his head.  
"This stubbornness will get you killed, you bloody fool!" She took him by the shoulders and forced him to look at her.  
"Are you aware of that?!"  
He returned her gaze calmly.  
"Yes, and I prefer to breath my last not on this island."  
She stared at him. Maybe it was a trick of the light but she thought she could see warmth and a trace of regret in his brown eyes before he averted his gaze.  
Slowly she let go of his shoulders and sat back on her heels.  
Do not stay close to me he had said.  
It was about her. Her grandmother had given him an order about her. Something he was not willing to do. Something he abhorred so much he would accept his own death in consequence for refusing the order.  
She took a deep breath.  
He had given her the dagger back. The dagger she had given to him under the condition that it was not used against her. She had been joking then but he had been true to his word.  
"The countess wants you to kill me", she stated flatly.  
Laertes nodded without a word.  
Fionas chest grew tight with the realisation. She was afraid not to be able to breath ever again as her eyes filled with tears.  
Laertes sat himself more upright and looked at her.  
"Too easy to hurt", he muttered as if to himself.  
His softly spoken words seemed to loosen the tightness in her chest and Fiona quickly got up. She walked a few steps out of the forest. As she reached the open heather she stopped and let her tears flow freely. Maybe she should be shocked and unbelieving but her grandmother had it in her to take harsh steps once she felt betrayed. Somewhere deep down she had known that she had to remain useful to her grandmother. Since Fiona could remember she had tried to earn the affection of Sophie. Her fear had always been to disappoint her and maybe be left by her as well. Sophie had been the only family she knew of then. Over the years Fiona had convinced herself that her grandmother cared for her. But when she refused to become her successor Fiona had noticed a change in their relationship. It felt more tense as if her grandmother would be testing her. Maybe the Countess had seen something of her own daughter in Fiona that reminded her of the betrayal years ago. For her Fionas decision to do the ghoul rites must be like a repetition of these events. The Countess had accepted the death of her daughter and now she had ordered Fionas death without a flicker of hesitation. Maybe that was what hurt the most. She was not even given a chance to explain herself.  
Fiona cried silently until she had no tears left anymore. Then she stared at the grey sky of dawn and felt the calmness of the island flow through her. She could not say how long she had just been standing there. But when she left a plan had formed in her mind.  
As she finally returned to the oak tree Laertes had fallen asleep. Fiona had been able to trap his pain but not to return his strength to him after a day of vicious pain and agony. She would have liked to let him rest but they needed to take action as long as he was pain free. If her calculation was right they had half a day. Maybe less.  
The young healer bent down and shook the forestman awake. He slowly opened his eyes and it took a while until he focused on her.  
"So you did come back", he stated and accepted her hand to pull himself upright. Before she could explain anything to him he continued.  
"I have lost my family and friends – virtually everyone I knew- to your grandmother and her schemes. They were innocent people. I am not going to be her tool in sacrificing an other innocent life for her thirst of power. I will not obey her." He caught her eyes. "Please don't make it harder for me than it already is."  
She nodded. Her mind searched for words to express the strong feeling of gratitude that surged through her at his words. Or for the sympathy she felt for him. No words seemed to be enough.  
"I know a way out of this. We will play along to her game but not according to her rules", Fiona said instead.  
He raised an astonished eyebrow at her.  
"Trust me", was all she said.

ooooOoooo

The sisters did not like the Bound One being back. She could see it in their eyes and in the way they tried to ignore his presence. They even did not offer him a chair although it was obvious that he was leaning against the wall for support and not out of nonchalance.  
Fiona suppressed a sigh and placed a chair in front of Laertes herself. Of course she understood the sisters. For them Laertes was nothing more than a tool of the Countess and therefore not to be trusted at all. But he had refused to kill her. Maybe that did not prove his loyalty to her as Leandra had pointed out. His decision had been based on his personal history with the Countess and his pride. But it proved without a doubt that he was not willing to obey every order. Laertes made his own decisions and that made him worthy of her trust. And worthy of the risk she was going to take to stop his eminent death.  
"So you trapped the pain? A very skilful work, Fiona. But it will only last for a few hours."  
"I know. That's why I would like to ask you to perform the bathing ritual."  
Fiona had remembered the ritual from a time when her father had lost a good friend. She could not remember what had caused his death but it had been an illness of some kind. Her father had been full of grief especially as his friend left wife and children behind. So he had asked the sisters to perform the bathing ritual. Normally the ghoulprincesses would not have agreed. The ritual was done for warriors and members of the royal family only. But her father was their nephew and so they granted him his wish.  
"You obviously have given the matter some thought." Leandra tapped her chin thoughtfully.  
"And you ask for a lot". Marena added.  
Laertes leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees.  
"I don't mean to slow things down, my ladies. But I have no idea what you are talking about." He looked at Fiona.  
"As I am going to be involved I would like to know what exactly this ritual is."  
The young healer nodded.  
"Of course. Well, what are ghouls known and feared for?"  
He frowned and returned her gaze without answering.  
She gave him a mock smile.  
"Oh come on now, Laertes. It is not like you to stay silent just because your words may offend people."  
Despite himself he had to Smile.  
"Well, if you guarantee for my safety … ghouls are known to steal corpses. No idea what they do with them. Possibly they eat them or something of that sort."  
Marena gave a snort at his words.  
"I really don't know why these rumours stay that long", she said. "Ghouls do take the corpses of their fallen warriors with them. Sometimes there is enough lifeforce left in them to try and revive them." She hesitated not sure how much of their rituals she could tell to the Bound One.  
"The body will be bathed in the sacred stream and then we melt it into the holy willow tree. If the goddess looks kindly upon us the stream and the tree will help to return the warrior to us", Leandra continued.  
"And if the goddess is not kind?"  
"Then the warrior will melt deeper into the core of the tree and become one with it."  
Laertes rubbed a hand through his hair.  
"I see", he muttered.  
Marena pushed her chair back and started pacing in front of the window. Then she stopped and looked hard at Fiona. Her dark green dress was embroidered with pearls that reflected the early morning sun.  
"She definitely does look like a princess now", Fiona mused as she tried not to flinch away under the scrutiny.  
"It does honour you, Fiona, that you take the Bound Ones fate into consideration and try to find a way around the obvious and secure way …"  
"Which would be to kill him before he kills me", Fiona finished her sentence. Her voice sounded harsh even to her own ears.  
"Or ban him from the islands to keep you safe. Anyway, as I said I do admire your consideration but I don't think we will be able to revive his corpse once he died of Sophies curse even if we wanted to. He is no ghoul. We are not his princesses and the goddess is not his goddess." Her voice softened and she avoided to look into the direction of Laertes.  
"I am sorry but I don't think the bathing ritual will be an option."  
Fiona leaned back into her chair. Her eyes rested calmly on the sisters as she said:  
"I am not talking about Laertes. I would like to ask you to perform the ritual with my corpse."


	9. Chapter 9

Laertes felt slow. It was not a word he would normally have used to describe himself. But now he definitely had the feeling events and developments had started to race ahead of him with no possibility for him to catch up. All these obscure ghoul rules and rituals really were hard to understand for him. His tiredness did nothing to help the situation. By now he was so exhausted that he had to force his eyes to stay open. He had long given up on trying to follow the discussion between Fiona and the Sisters.

All he knew was that the healer had asked him to kill her so that Sophies curse could be broken. If the Countess was true to her word he would be rid of the silver bracelet in less than a day. The ritual however that was supposed to call Fiona back into life seemed to be harder to perform than the healer had thought.

Well, Laertes had not even known that something like that existed or had been successful before for that matter. The sisters had switched into ghoulish and Fiona answered in the same foreign tongue. Laertes leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. The voices of the three women drifted in and out of his mind and he allowed himself to relax.

Before he could drop off completely though someone touched his shoulder. Without opening his eyes he knew that it was Fiona. The Sisters would not have touched him. They still were very suspicious of him. For them he was a pair of eyes for Sophie and nothing more. Especially Marena was wary around him. He could not blame them for their distrust. The forestman did not give his trust to someone easily either. Fiona seemed to trust him though. If he was right she had been trusting him for quite some time now. Strange really, if one took into consideration that he had not really given her a reason to – not until last night, anyway.

"I will have to perform the rites to enable my ghoul powers before we can proceed. Its just as well that I remembered swimming through the stream on our way back to the castle … are you listening, Laertes?"

"Yes", he replied without opening his eyes. "But I can`t deal with long explanations now – just tell me what you need me to do."

"You go to sleep. When I am finished I come and fetch you to … to do what has to be done. The Sisters don't allow anyone to witness the rites anyway apart from the elemental ghouls that help me finding my power …", she stopped as Laertes raised a hand.

"All right I see, too much gibberish for you." He could hear her smile.

"Just let the servant show you a room where you can sleep then."

Laertes finally opened his eyes and nodded his agreement. He got up and followed the silent servant that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Before the door closed behind him Fiona called out to him.

"Don't do anything foolish if the pain starts again, forestman."

He stopped and looked back over his shoulder at her.

"I am not suicidal, princess", he said. "And not stupid either. You found a way out of this so I follow your orders to the word." He gave her his mock smile.

"I don't know what it is with the women of your family – I seem to have no other option than to be at your command."

She did not answer and he turned to follow the servant.

Of course he was not going to go along with her foolish plan. If he had been willing to kill her he would have done it already. What he needed now was a good sleep. Once he was himself again he would find a solution. Preferably one where he did not have to depend on weird rituals or the eerie ghoulprincesses.

The chamber was right at the top of the tower. A very comfortable looking bed stood at one side. Through the narrow window he could see the courtyard below. In its middle grew an old gnarled willow tree. Along its roots flowed the stream by which he had entered the fortress the first time. That must be the holy tree.

"How many corpses might be stuck in it?", he thought with a shudder. From above it looked just like a normal old tree. How anyone could believe it would be powerful enough to bring people back to life was a mystery to him. He turned away from the window. The servant placed a jar of wine and a goblet next to his bed. Then he left. As soon as the door closed behind him Laertes took of his boots and laid down on the bed. It had been a long time since he had been in a proper bed. But he did not have a lot of time to consciously relish the feeling of the soft covers and mattress as he soon drifted off to sleep.

His deep slumber was only once disturbed by chanting from the courtyard that grew steadily louder. At first he was tempted to look out of the window to see whether he could maybe witness something of the rites afterall. But he was still quite tired. It seemed to be a very private ritual anyway and he respected that. Laertes turned around and ignored the chanting successfully.

When he finally awoke the low sun told him that it was late afternoon. He got up and poured himself some of the red wine the servant had left him. While he slept someone had brought some bread and fruits as well.

"You can say about the Sisters what you want but they are very hospitable", he thought as he ate some of the fresh bread. With the goblet in his hand he went to stand by the window. Below the rites seemed to be finished. At least Fiona and the Sisters were nowhere to be seen. Laertes saw four ghouls leave the courtyard slowly. They wore long robes. Two of them wore orange red ones and when they moved they gave the flickering impression of flames darting up around their bodies. The other two were dark figures that looked a lot like the ghouls that had attacked him. Their robes were of changing colours from sandy brown to nearly black. Their hair had the dark green colour of ivy leaves with strokes of white in it. Just when the gate opened for them Laertes noticed the two other ghouls. They were hardly visible but seemed to be followed by a gust of wind where ever they went. Only when they stopped for the gate to open Laertes could make them out in their long light grey robes.

"Fire, wind, earth – where are the water ghouls then?" He shrugged and returned to the plate with the fruit. Maybe the water ghouls had left the castle by the stream. The thought made him smile.

"Sleep seems to improve your mood a lot", he heard Fiona remark. Laertes looked up sharply and glanced around. He had not heard the door open. The room was empty.

"Don't play tricks with me, princess."

"I`m not – or well, maybe a bit."

Laertes turned towards the window where her voice had come from. On the windowsill sat a raven. It spread its wings and leaped into the room towards him. He instinctively raised his arms. Only briefly. When he lowered them again, Fiona stood in front of him. She was wearing a white robe and her smile was full of delight as she flexed and stretched her arms a bit.

"Impressive", Laertes stated and observed how the last black feathers which covered her shoulders turned into her dark hair again.

She gave him a gleeful grin that stood in stark contrast to her normal composed behaviour.

"These rites are the best things I ever did!" She stretched her arms wide and spun around in a circle until she was a blur of white and black. When she stopped he could hardly see her at all. She made a step towards him and a wisp of wind brushed past him.

"I take it you are one of the wind ghouls then."

She appeared in front of him again.

"Are you curious enough to listen to long explanations?"

"Curious maybe but rather easily bored as well."

Fiona gave a soft laugh.

"Good, the short version for you, then. Ghouls are very close to nature. They draw their powers from the elements. I have got a bit of every element power in me. But there are a few enchantresses and warlocks who have a natural gift for one element especially. They are called elemental ghouls and are very powerful. A wind ghoul can ride with the wind and call a hurricane with the wave of his hand. A fire ghoul dances with the fire you should see it one day. It is very beautiful but also a bit scary …"

"No doubt there", Laertes muttered. He leaned against the bedpost and folded his arms.

The woman in front of him virtually radiated a pure joy of life. Who in his right mind could think of killing her now?

"So you have passed your rites and came to fetch me."

She sobered up instantly and gave a small nod.

"I want to be over with it before the pain gets too bad again – has it started yet?"

He nodded and she sat on the only chair in the room.

"The Sisters are ready. We just have to discuss the means. Are you good with the dagger?"

Laertes looked at her blankly for a moment.

"You really have lost your mind! And those ghoulladies as well!", he spat at last and leaned towards her.

"Listen carefully because I am not going to repeat myself: I will not kill you – no matter how ready the Sisters are! Either you help me find an other solution or I ´ll walk out of that door never to set eyes on you again."

Fiona returned his gaze calmly.

"I understand your hesitation …"

"I am not hesitant! I am bloody resolute and not to be swayed in this matter not even by your charming grandmother!"

"There is really no need to shout at me, Laertes. I don't see an other solution at least none I would accept. I can assure you that the bathing ritual works most of the times. In fact I have witnessed a few and they never failed. So you would just send me to sleep for a while really."

Laertes shook his head and started pacing in front of her.

"I don't want you to sacrifice yourself for me. I don't want to be in your debt", he said still agitated.

"Well, the same goes for me. But if you look closely you will have to admit that the chances of a good outcome are a lot higher with my solution than with your selfsacrifice to a slow painful death." She grabbed his arm as he passed by and made him face her.

"I am not doing this because I am soft hearted or selfless", she said and her voice had turned a lot harder. "I do this to defy my grandmother. She accepted the death of my mother. She destroyed my life by capturing me and raising me far away from the place where I belong and she ordered my death – I am not going to stand by and witness an other death she is responsible for without interfering." She let go of his arm.

"Like it or not, forestman. But we are in this together and you can not just take it on all alone."

Laertes looked down upon her. In her face he read determination and a strength he would not have thought to find in the soft spoken young healer. He stepped back a bit and run his hand through his hair slowly.

"But what if the ritual does fail?"

"It never fails. Either I return or I live on inside the holy tree."

"Yes, yes but if you do live on inside the tree what would the Sisters say? They would be after my blood for sure! Marena would push me over the next cliff before I could even think of escaping!"

Fiona nodded slowly.

"We have to make sure you will stay unharmed should that happen."

Laertes sighed and started pacing again. She watched him for a while.

"The risk of the ritual not working really is very small. The sisters are very powerful and the ritual will be performed only minutes after my passing…" she stopped when he crouched in front of her chair and took her hands in his.

"The risk of killing you – at least for this world – is still too great. Too great for me to take", he said softly.

She returned his gaze for a while then averted her eyes. As he thought this worked better than all his shouting and reasoning before.

"What other solution can you think of?", she asked and he knew he had won the argument.

ooooOoooo

An other night had passed and the morning that greeted them was clear and sunny. No mist or drizzle like the days before. Laertes watched the ghoul warriors as they got the boats ready. He had been a bit surprised when the sisters had offered to send their warriors. After all they were not ready for an other war with the Countess. But their orders were clear. Should Laertes fail or the situation get too dangerous they should retreat. If possibly unnoticed by the Countess as not to provoke her into an attack on the islands.

The solution they settled for now had been very clear to Laertes from the start. It had taken him a bit of convincing but finally Fiona saw reason and had agreed to his suggestion. He would not kill her or accept the slow death by the bracelet. The only other option that sprang to mind was to kill Sophie instead. Fiona had warned him of Sophies powers but he still wanted to try. The young healer would accompany him. She would make sure that the pain did not get unbearable for him so that he still could plan and stage the killing of Sophie with a clear head and reliable body. The ghoul warriors would help them as long as there was no risk of Sophie finding out about them.

The ghouls worked fast and in a quite eerie silence. They did not seem to need to talk. Everyone just knew what to do or where to go. Laertes sat down on a smooth rock and watched the silent performance in front of him. After a while he glanced around to see where Fiona was. The young healer had trapped his pain inside the holy tree before they left the castle. Since then she had barely spoken a word to him. Maybe she was avoiding him. After all he was going to kill her grandmother. Although Sophie had done her great wrong the thought of actually venturing out to kill her did seem to upset Fiona deeply.

He spotted her finally when the ghouls called for him to get into one of the boats. She climbed in with a few other warriors. Her blue cloak stood out amongst the dark clothes of the ghouls. As they crossed the lake Laertes fixed his gaze onto the shore in front of him and tried to occupy his mind with finding a good way of killing Sophie. Fiona had agreed that it would be best not to try and break in the manor but to take her down on one of her regular travels through the realm. Laertes had develops a certain skill with the bow. His best plan so far was to try and shoot her from a distance and then escape her guardians with the help of the ghouls. Fiona had said that there were ways the ghouls could conceal him for a while. Laertes knew from his own experience by now that they themselves were hard to spot in a forest.

And then the reason for Fionas subdued mood dawned on him. She was not only going up against the Countess but very likely against Commander Rhou as well. Laertes would try not to harm anyone apart from the Countess if it was avoidable. But he could not speak for the ghouls. Some of them seemed pretty grim and they certainly had their own story with Countess Sophie and her followers. Could Fiona order them to spare the Commander? Was she in charge of the ghoul warriors? They surely treated her with more respect than him but maybe they only excepted orders from the sisters.

His thoughts were disturbed by a ghoul warrior that poked him in the ribs and made an unmistakable gesture for him to jump out of the boat into the shallow water as they reached the shore.

He helped pulling the boat ashore. This was not the spot where they had left off for the islands the other day. In the distance he could make out a fishers hut. That must be where Fiona had brought the horses and got the boat from. He hoped that the fisherman had not already sold the horses. The other boats were brought ashore as well. He counted a total of 10 ghoul warriors that accompanied them. Just when he wondered how 12 people should travel on two horses the ghoul warriors changed shape. Some of them turned into birds and took of. One became a huge grey wolf and others simply seemed to vanish. Again no word was uttered. They had their orders and they followed them without discussion. Laertes watched the warriors leave then he turned to Fiona.

"I hope we can catch up with them on horseback. They seem to be astonishingly fast."

Fiona simply nodded. She stood next to the boats. Her face was turned away from him but her posture seemed unusually rigid. As she bent slightly forward he realised that she must be in pain. He approached her quickly.

"That is not my pain bothering you, is it?" he asked as he was next to her.

She gave a tight smile.

"No, no. Its nothing …" she stopped and took a sharp breath.

"That does not sound like nothing to me", Laertes said but she did not respond. Her form started flickering and he had trouble seeing her clearly. He could make out that her hair turned into feathers and than quickly changed back a few times.

"Oh dear", Fiona breathed. "I did hope this would not happen …"

Her arms changed into wings then back into arms again. She grabbed hold of Laertes arm as she started swaying. Her grip was painfully hard. He stepped closer.

"What the hell is going on?" he hissed as she turned nearly transparent and then got solid again.

"Its my ghoul power", she managed to say before bending over again.

This time she turned into a raven completely and Laertes hastily stepped back as it flapped its wings violently. It took Fiona longer to regain her form than before. Her hair still showed some feathers and she kept her eyes closed as if concentrating hard.

"Its running wild."

"I worked that out myself now", Laertes said and stepped closer again. "What is causing it? How can you control it?"

Fiona did not answer for a while. Her form started flickering again and he grabbed her by the arm.

"Concentrate, princess! What is causing this?"

"The sisters said it might happen because I am only half ghoul and still have sorcerer magic in me…"

"Can they help? Hey, stop growing feathers and answer me!" he shook her until she regained her old form.

"Yes, they can but it might be too late…"

Laertes dragged her to a boat without waiting for her to finish her sentence.

"Get in here. I row you over!"

She grabbed his shoulder to steady herself.

"We won`t make it in time, Laertes", she said quietly. "I can`t hold the changing off much longer. Leandra said if I allow myself to turn into my chosen animal at this stage I stay a raven forever."

Her hair had turned into shining black feathers again. They ran down all along her back. Laertes noticed with horror that the hand on his shoulders started to turn into a wing tip as well.

"You can not just let it happen!" he said urgently."Come on! Think! Is there no way out of this?"

She shook her head then stopped suddenly and turned to look at him.

"Do you still have that potion?"

Laertes quickly got the vial out of his pocket. Half of the bottle was still full.

"I see where your thoughts go", he muttered as he uncorked the vial and the strong scent of vermouth and yew drifted up. "It is dangerous for ghouls. Maybe it will keep your inner ghoul in check until I have brought you to the sisters."

He started pouring something onto his hand but Fiona stopped him with a flick of her arm that now was a wing.

"I will have to drink it. The sisters tried to get into my mind from outside. My ghoul powers are in me so I have to battle them from the inside."

He stared at her.

"Are you sure about this? That stuff is pretty nasty."

She gave a shrug and closed her eyes briefly.

"As sure as I can be. Would you help me? I can`t hold the vial with these wings."

Laertes looked at her for a while. Then he tilted her head back gently and put the vial to her lips.

"I don't like this", he mumbled as Fiona drank the green liquid. As soon as the first drops had left the small bottle shivers ran through her body and the feathers began to disappear. Fiona started coughing and Laertes took the vial away.

"That is enough, princess. This can`t be good for you." He corked the vial again. Then he looked at the healer closely. She had regained her normal form but she still was shivering.

"Has it worked then?" he asked.

Fiona turned her face to him and smiled sadly.

"Yes", she said and tensed as if in great pain.

"I am afraid it has worked rather well."

Maybe it was something in her eyes. Or her tone.

The realisation hit Laertes like a physical blow. The vial slipped from his fingers.

"You tricked me", he whispered not wanting it to be true.

The young healer nodded and smiled apologetically.

Then her legs gave way. Laertes quickly caught her and lowered her carefully onto the beach.

Tremors ran through her body and her breath came in sharp gasps.

"This was not necessary, Fiona", Laertes said as he kneeled next to her.

"I would have killed Sophie…" he stopped as she raised a hand.

"You would have had no chance. She can sense Bound Ones for miles. Especially …" she paused as an other tremor shook her form.

"Especially Bound Ones that mean her ill. Why would she have survived so long otherwise? She … she has many enemies …"

Laertes could hardly make out her words anymore.

"Do the sisters know of your plan?"

She nodded. Her eyes had turned the vivid green of the ghouls as she searched his gaze.

"Will you stay with me until its over?"

He could read fear in her eyes. Maybe she was not that certain about the bathing ritual as she had made him believe.

"Yes", he said quietly and suddenly found it hard to draw breath. "Of course."

Laertes reached out and stroked her cheek softly.

He caught himself still doing it even after she had slipped into unconsciousness. Her breathing got shallower and shallower. Then it stopped all together.

He knew that she was dead when the bracelet dropped from his wrist.

He stared at the plain silver band in the sand.

He was free.

After all those years as a Bound One he finally got his own free will back. He could go where he wanted to. Even leave the realm forever or find enough followers to be able to overthrow the Countess. No one would stopp him from going to that fisherman, getting a horse and be on his way.

But somehow he could not bring himself to leave Fionas side.

That was where the ghoul warriors found him when they returned. To him it seemed as if they would simply drop out of the sky. They were not in the least surprised to find the young healer dead. Of course they had known of her plans as well. In the same silence as before they got the boats ready quickly. One ghoul stepped next to Laertes. He inclined his head to the forestman then picked up Fionas body and put her in one of the boats. The ghoul warriors did not seem to care whether he stayed or returned with them to the islands.

Maybe that was why Fiona had chosen this side of the lake to trick him into poisoning her. He could be miles away before the sisters even knew if the bathing ritual had worked or if they had lost Fiona again.

"Good thinking, princess", he muttered under his breath as he watched the boat that held her body leave the shore.

She was as cunning as her grandmother maybe even a bit more.

He got up and quickly jumped into the last boat before the ghoul warrior pushed it into the water. He would be dammed if he left now and never found out whether they really got the better of Countess Sophie.

ooooOoooo

The sisters wore long robes that had the same greyish blue colour as the stream in the courtyard. Whenever they moved the robes seemed nearly translucent without actually revealing anything of their bodies underneath.

"So they are the water ghouls", Laertes realised as the sisters low chanting filled the courtyard. They knelt next to Fionas body which lay at the roots of the holy tree. Her white robe stood out against the greyish bark. The sisters seemed to apply something onto Fionas face but he could not make out what it was. Laertes stood on he other side of the stream. Leandra had firmly taken his arm and had made him stay when Marena wanted to send him away.

"He is no Bound One anymore and his return to the islands proves that he does care about Fionas destiny. So let him watch, sister. He deserves our trust." She had smiled at him.

"Maybe you can help us later on."

The chanting stopped. The sisters lifted Fionas body and carefully lowered it into the stream. They stepped into it as well. Laertes caught his breath as he saw how they virtually became one with the water. He could see Fionas body clearly under the surface of the water. But where the water touched the sisters they seemed to turn into water as well. Leandra and Marena sank into the water and with that vanished completely. The stream made Fionas long hair flow around her face but otherwise she lay absolutley still. Apart from the slowly moving strands of hair she could have been lying in a crystal coffin.

Then the water suddenly clouded over. Mist raised from its surface and slowly drifted up until the whole stream looked as if it was covered by a thick white veil. All Laertes could hear was the soft murmur of the water. He thought he could make out shadows moving on the other side of the stream but maybe it was just a trick of his mind.

He started violently as a cold hand suddenly touched his arm. Leandra stood next to him. Her vivid green eyes were the only bits of colour in her appearance. Otherwise she seemed to be fading into the mist around her.

"It is done. We melted her into the holy willow. Now only time will tell what her fate is."

She tilted her head to one side.

"Traditionally one ghoul holds wake at the holy tree. He shall greet the returning warrior should he emerge from the tree. Do you want to take the wake?"

Laertes nodded mutely. Then he cleared his throat.

"How to I know it is not worth waiting any longer?" he asked.

"If the goddess chooses to hold Fiona inside the tree the yellow leaves on top will change back to green without her stepping out."

Laertes peered through the lifting mist but could not make out the branches on top of the tree yet.

"We will send you something to eat and a blanket. The morning still is quite chilly, isn't it?" Leandra studied his face when he did not reply.

"What ever happens: it is the choice of the goddess. And it was Fionas choice to go down this path and put herself at her mercy. We will accept what ever will be."

With that she joined her sister on the path to the fortress.

Laertes crossed the stream and sat down at the roots of the holy tree. Its bark felt warm as he leaned his back against it and hoped for a kind-hearted goddess.


End file.
